Persephone is out of hope. She believes she will have to spend the rest of eternity like this, being a prisoner of her own mother. No God would be willing to take on Demeter for her hand. Even Ares, the God of War, is too frightened to take on Demeter, no matter how much interest he has shown Persephone in the past. About five dozen years ago, Demeter forbid her daughter to speak to any other Gods besides her own father, Zeus.

So while at the Summer Solstice, she sits at her mother’s feet. She isn’t even granted a proper chair. Her mother strokes her head aimlessly while all of the other Gods and Goddesses joke among one another, and Persephone has to sit there and watch. Everything is going according to plan, until halfway through the party a new guest arrives.

Hades.

It is rare for him to attend the Solstice parties. He is the only God that Zeus will let get away with not attending. The whole room falls silent, and that is the only reason why Persephone looks up from the spot she was staring at on the floor.

Hades strolls in without a care in the world. Like the stories Persephone was always told as a child, he wears a black tunic the same shade as the River Styx, differing greatly by the wildly colored ones all of the others Gods would wear. His hair is long and the curls fall into ringlets in front of his face. The shadows in the room cling to his being as soon as he takes his first step into the room, instantly shrouding his face and giving it a darker edge. The only sign of color about him, the only sign that kept Persephone staring at him for longer than she probably should have, were his bright green eyes.

Artemis is the first to speak. She has always been the bravest of the Goddesses, and even some of the Gods. “What are you doing here, King of the Dead?” Her voice shows her clear distaste and discomfort for the man. She doesn’t even give him enough respect to use his proper name.

Hades sends her a wicked smirk. It makes Persephone’s skin crawl. He takes a few steps forward towards an empty chair between his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. “I am always invited, if you must know.”

“No-” Artemis starts again.

“He is,” Zeus finally speaks up. He gives Hades a pat on his back and as soon as he’s seated, the God instantly tenses. “He’s family, Artemis. He’s my brother. He’s always been invited for whenever he can spare us the time. Now come on, it’s a day to be merry. Everyone carry on as they were before.”

It takes a few moments, but the Gods and Goddesses pick up their forgotten conversations. Now a bit more on edge with Hades around, but they take to ignoring him like he isn’t even there. Only his brothers will speak with him.

Persephone knew she shouldn’t, especially with her mother right there next to her, but she stares at Hades. She is absolutely curious with him. She hasn’t seen him since her first hundred years of life. All she hears are terrible story after terrible story of him, mostly by her mother, but looking at him then she didn’t feel like any of them were true. 

While she is staring, she doesn’t realize that Hades has started looking right back at her since having felt her gaze. He raises an eyebrow in her direction, and the smug look he was wearing earlier reappears on his face. His eyes darken until they’re entirely black, but even then she doesn’t flinch away, she just continues to stare. His eyes turn back to their normal green and a strange look comes upon his face, but then she spots it. If she’d have blinked she would have missed at. At the left side of his mouth, it tugged up a bit into a smile of sorts. Persephone goes to smile back, but then her mother grabs her by her hair and forces her head downwards.

Demeter leans down until she can speak into her daughter's ear. “Don’t,” she hisses in warning.

And even though she feels Hades eyes on her for the rest of the night, and even though she longs to stare back at him, she keeps her head down in fear of being locked up once more. Watching Hades at the party was not worth the punishment she would receive for doing so.

+ + +

“Who was the one sitting by Demeter’s feet?”

While the party had shifted to another part of Olympus for the ones who preferred to keep it going as long as possible, a few other Gods had called it a night to escape to their own parts of the world below. Demeter left with her companion first, hours before anyone else had. Hades would have too, but he desperately wanted to talk to Zeus, so he stuck around until Zeus took his leave for his chambers.

Zeus doesn’t even flinch at Hades' voice. It had been the first time he’d made his presence known, but Zeus knew his older brother had been following him the entire time. Just because he couldn’t see him didn’t mean he wasn’t lurking in the shadows.

“Persephone.”

Hades falls in step with Zeus now. “Who?”

“She went by Kore when you last saw her, but she changed her name as an act of rebellion a while back. It’s one of the few things Demeter has allowed her to control.”

“Kore? As in Demeter’s daughter? If she’s a Goddess, then why was she sitting on the floor like a common nymph?” Hades asks in almost outrage. His words even work Zeus up a bit.

“She’s trying to keep the child as young as she possibly can. Even if that means not giving her certain rights that Goddesses her age should have gotten many moons ago.”

“She isn’t a child any longer, brother. She’s a woman. Demeter may think she’s helping the girl, but if you want my opinion, she’s being selfish and keeping her all to herself.”

Zeus stops walking suddenly, and Hades only realizes when he is already a few steps ahead. He turns around to face him. Zeus stares at him, his eyes shining with mischief.

“You sound jealous, Hades.”

Hades' jaw drops. “What? No I’m-”

Zeus starts walking again, leaving Hades behind him. “If you want the girl-”

“I’m not going to just take her!” Hades yells down the corridor. “You can’t… I’m not like you or Poseidon.”

Zeus doesn’t even take offense. “If you want the possibility of having the girl, you know all you have to do is talk to Aphrodite. Her son Eros can help, and he can offer Persephone a chance to get away from her mother and go with you. Maybe she’ll take it, and maybe she won’t, but it wouldn’t hurt trying, now would it?”

With a quiet click echoed in the hallway, Zeus has disappeared into his chambers for the night. Hades stands still in the hallway, where he’s been since Zeus had started walking on without him. His fists stay clenched at his sides, and his eyes are closed in thought. When he opens them Aphrodite is stood right in front of him, like she’d heard Zeus say her name before. She probably had heard, honestly.

“I-” Hades starts.

Aphrodite wraps her arm around Hades, cutting him off. “You know I’ve been dying to set you up with someone ever since I came to Olympus. Let’s take a walk through the gardens and chat, shall we?”

~

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