Hades and Persephone

Part I

Sometimes Mother Gaia sings to me.

She sings songs about the wilderness in a language too old for me to understand… but I can feel it's meaning just as clearly as if she had spoken to me in the God's tongue of my parents. I press my ear to the ground, trying to find her voice as a gentle humming tickles my senses through the grass.

She sings of pain and love lost… She sings of sadness and death… She sings the warning song of Chaos before becoming silent in her reflections….

Once I'm sure she's gone, I sit up and dig my hands into the soil, letting the dirt pass between my fingers. I love the way the earth feels against my skin. I even love the way it smells and I spend most of my time playing in Mother Gaia's all nourishing body, making things grow and listening to her soothing voice of love as it lulls me to sleep.

My true mother hates how dirty I allow myself to become when I'm in the woods… She thinks me disorganized and childish in my actions… but she doesn't understand.

How could she?

She hardly understands anything at all.

A whistling wind carries through the forest, rustling my hair and the branches overhead. I look up, squinting against the sunlight to hear it's song as I rub dirt over my arms. The light freckles the ground around me and I take a moment to appreciate how truly lovely it all is before going back to my experiment, pushing my hands even deeper into the ground to make room... but my thoughts distract me, and I start messing with the dirt again, picking some of it up and rubbing it down my neck.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live inside Mother Gaia's womb. To swim in the earth like it was water and plant my roots deep inside her belly…but that's a silly thought and I shake it away when I think of my mother.

She has told me time and time again that my whimsy thoughts were a waste of time. I am a grown woman now, she says. It is time to set aside such fantasies and focus on the mysteries of the earth and the secrets of the harvest.

I suppose she is right….But I am not half as serious as she is and I find it hard to focus on such things when there is so much whimsy in the world to be had.

I reach into my bag and pull out one of the pink seeds I've been working on. I smile at the thing before placing it in the hole I made, humming gently to myself as I nestle it in the ground. Once covered with dirt, I put my hand over the spot and whisper encouraging words until a little sprout grows between the cracks in my fingers.

I laugh in happiness and lay down flat to get closer, my cheek pressed into the earth as twigs entangle my hair.

"You can do it," I whisper. "Come on."

I shine my light until the flower grows tall, with green leaves springing free of it's thin body.

"A little more now," I encourage with a grin as the yellow petals twist open at the top. "There you go!"

I hop up to my knees when the flower blooms and look down on my creation with the giddiness of a child….before deflating completely when I realize it's not how I wanted it to be.

"Only four pedals?" I say to myself with a disappointed frown. "You were supposed to have six."

I get in close to inspect my creation, my dirty fingernails scraping the top as my knees become damp with wet earth.

"Where is the pink? You were supposed to have pink in the center."

I go to pluck the failure from the ground… but a white caterpillar catches my attention. It's body is rolling along the ground in a little wave of white cotton and I get down low to see as it makes it's way along the forest floor. I follow the curious fellow on my hands and knees, humming to myself as I dance my fingers along the ground beside it.

I wonder what a caterpillar thinks about all day long…. Do caterpillars think?

These are testing questions that occupy my mind and distract me from my-

"Sister?" I look up when a shadow falls over me. Artemis seems amused by my position and she puts a hand on her hip as I crawl past her. Her short hair is wild today, her dark curls coiled tightly and braided in the front to keep them from her eyes. "What are you doing?" She asks with a laugh.

"He's going to turn into a butterfly soon," I explain, going back to my little friend as he moves towards one of the great oak trees. "I would very much like to see that."

I favor simple things that become beautiful.. I like to think one day I will be beautiful too. Like a seed to a flower… a caterpillar to a butterfly… a girl to a woman….

"I always find you playing some sort of worm when I come to visit."

"It's a caterpillar," I correct her over my shoulder and she makes a hmf noise in reply. "I hardly play with worms," I say when I realize she means to insult me. "...all the time..." I add honestly under my breath so she won't hear.

"Do you know what today is?" she questions and I nod my head, plucking a twig from the ground and putting it between my teeth. "Your mother wants to make sure you show up on time. You were so very late to the last council meeting. Our Great Father noticed and he will not be so inclined to forgive again."

"I won't be late," I say, only half listening as my friend starts his way up the tree.

"Make sure that you aren't or Mother Demeter will have my head. She'd probably keep it in one of those awful harvest boxes," she touches her delicate neck, her brown eyes narrowed in the distance. "Make me watch as she teaches poor mortals how to farm."

I laugh at the face she makes and then grab a low hanging branch to pull myself up.

"I don't even know why I have to go," I admit as I struggle to climb the large tree. "I never have anything to say."

Mother only started allowing me to go to the Great Council meetings and I know I should be grateful for the honor and the trust she is putting in me… but… I just can't find it in me to really be that happy about it. I've been sheltered in the woods most of my life with only a few friends to keep me company... so every time I'm permitted on Mount Olympus…. I always feel a little in over my head. Everyone always knows so much more… acts so much greater….and they all have so many opinions I couldn't even begin to understand….

I just feel so out of place and stupid all the time….

"You know..." she trails off and I glance at her to see why she's stopped talking.

She's just staring at me.

"What?"

"Do you need help?" she asks as she watches me struggle to catch my footing on the bark, my face getting red in exertion.

"No," I whisper, my arms shaking.

My foot keeps slipping off a knot in the trunk and I'm just kind of dangling in the air with all my weight on my elbows. She huffs before coming over and pushing me up to the next branch.

"Honestly, Persephone. How do you survive on your own?"

"I would have gotten it without your help," I reply shortly as I grab another branch to go a little further. "I'm just not as strong as you are."

The wind comes whistling and I listen to it's voice before she starts speaking again, pulling me away from the call of the wilderness.

"You should join me and my maidens," she says, smiling when I look at her. My sister has dimples when she smiles, and it makes her face all the more pleasing "I think you would enjoy your time with us."

She has her bow and quiver over her shoulders and hunting boots made of the finest leather protecting her feet. Her tunic matches her eyes…. a deep, earthy brown and it's cut at her knees with a thick belt around her waist. I convinced Mother to let me wear shorter dresses too... because I love being outside and climbing...but she would not let me cut my hair. She says I must keep it long, but I think Artemis looks just fine with her curls cut close to her shoulders.

It seems like it's much easier to have short hair...

"You know your mother wants you to take the chastity vow soon." I nod my head, wrinkling my nose at the idea. "You could travel with us and play with all the bugs and dirt you like."

"I don't want to kill animals," I admit, climbing further as the caterpillar lurches along.

"You don't have to," Artemis answers, her voice tight in annoyance. She's always been so temperamental and I spare her a little look before going back to my pleasures. "You could just run with us. We do an awful lot of running."

"I don't like running much either," I reply.

"What do you like?" she asks with a frown.

"I like you," I tell her and she rolls her eyes. "I like it here," I say as I find a sturdy branch to sit on. "I am perfectly content where I am."

"Being a strange little wood creature all by yourself?"

I smile at her insult.

"I don't mind being by myself," I admit. "I don't mind being a strange little wood creature for that matter either."

She sighs loudly.

"If you do not take your vows soon, you know our brothers will start to pursue you. You have the body of a woman now," she says and I glance down at my breasts. They have grown recently... "They do not take no for an answer," she says worriedly. "Find shelter with me or Athena. Take your vows or you will find yourself with unwanted attention."

"Who would pay attention to me?" I ask with my head tilted as I swing my legs.

"You have the looks of your mother," she admits as I take the flowers I had made out of my bag. They are all failed attempts to create the six petaled flower with a pink middle, but I love them all the same and I start knotting them together to form a crown. "But you are only half as strong she is." I make a face at that and she props her hand against the tree. "And she still couldn't shake the lust of our Great Father Zeus. Or Lord Poseidon. Do you remember what he did to her?"

I remember... Mother had told me how she tried to push away his advances by turning herself into a horse. He transformed into a stallion in kind and still managed to overpower her. As a result she gave birth to my horse brother Arion and a sister who spends her time in the rivers of the mortal world, talking to no one but my mother and only then on very rare occasions.

"My brother has noticed you," she says with a troubled furrow of her brow. "He speaks of you often..."

"You brother has plenty of lovers," I admit, my face blushing at the thought of being admired by such a good looking host. "He could hardly want for another."

"You do not know my brother very well," she says seriously as I place the flower crown on my head. "He has been unlucky in love. Those who do not flee from him outright usually die a horrible death..."

"I think that says more about your brother than the ones he chooses to love."

"If you will not take the vow, at least let me teach you how to defend yourself."

"I can defend myself just fine," I say, turning my head to catch the caterpillar moseying along the trunk nearby.

I should name him... A nice little name fitting for a little tuft of cotton...

I gasp when an arrow flies just in front of my face, splitting the twig in my mouth and nearly hitting my little friend. My eyes widen in shock as I stare at the arrow wedged into the bark just a fingers width from my nose.

"Artemis!" I hiss and she smiles up at me, lowering her bow and looking pleased with herself.

"Any man who tries to have me against my will is going to get an arrow right between the eyes!" she calls proudly. I yank the arrow from the tree and throw it down at her... It manages to land by some bushes far away and she raises her brows at my horrible aim. "Was that meant to hit me?"

"No," I lie and she smirks.

"See how vulnerable you are?"

"I don't want to learn any weapons of violence," I tell her honestly. "I am fine just being me."

"Just being you will not be enough when our brothers come calling," she says and I glare down at her. "Your mother can only protect you for so long."

She is trying to be honest... Even though she doesn't realize how offensive her words come out, I understand her meaning. She has never had that much tact, unfortunately for me.

"If you do not take the vow... if you do not want to learn how to fight... then take a husband," she implores as I hop to the ground, landing before her with a thump. "Someone who can protect you."

"Your brother?" I joke as I adjust the strap of my bag, but her face becomes serious.

"He would not be a good husband to you," she admits in a low voice. "He will not remain faithful and his temper is even crueler than mine. You need someone as gentle and sweet as you are."

"I fear that man does not exist," I admit, thinking of my mother again and all her horrible stories.

"Hermes is kind," she whispers, looking around to make sure no one was spying on us. "He is impossibly clever and he has mentioned your beauty on numerous occasions." When I don't reply, she comes in closer. "The others respect Hermes," she says gently, her dark eyes dancing over my face. "They will not go against him. You would be safe with Hermes."

"Why have you put so much thought into this?"

"I just worry about you," she says, her voice genuine and serious. Sister Artemis is a good deal taller than me… a slender beauty with hardened muscles… she always makes me feel a little inadequate so I stand on a nearby log to even us out. "You are the product of a union between a Great Mother and The Almighty Father... many will try to have you just for your bloodline."

"I am not as weak as you think," I tell her sharply when I realize she is right. No one will want me for me alone. "I can take care of myself."

"No," she says, shaking her head sadly. "You can't."

Before I can respond, she steps back.

"I have to get ready," she says, tugging on her dress and sighing loudly. "I'm not allowed to wear my regular clothes to council anymore. Mother Hera forbids it," she says, shaking her head in annoyance. "Remember." She points a finger at me. "Do not be late."

She leaves then and I frown after her, thinking of her words before flexing the muscles in my arms and looking down to see... I will never be as sculpted or as strong as my athletic sister and I don't know if I want to be chaste forever. I don't know if I want to deny myself the love of heart and body for all time.

Take a husband...

Of course, Mother would never let me marry. She says there is nothing worse for a woman then marriage and she points to Mother Hera as an example. If the Queen of Hosts can't be happy in marriage, who can? Marriage is a prison to a powerful woman…..That's what my mother says. I know all about the evils of men and their lusts.. but not all of them are bad. They can't be or women would not love them so.

A bird flies overhead, it's call pulling me away from my troubled thoughts for the sweetest of seconds. It's a beautiful thing with blue wings and black eyes that sparkle in the sun. I decide to follow the creature through the wood and across the small creek where I skip along the rocks in the water to make it to the other side. I nearly fall in when one of the stones teeters under my weight and I even yell out a little in surprise when my foot slips into the murky water, getting mud all over my toes. I balance myself out and go back to the bird, running after it to see where it will go with my arms stretched out.

Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to fly.

Sometimes I like to imagine I have wings like brother Eros… large, glorious wings that span the length of my entire body. If I was a bird, I would go far… I would see all the creatures of the earth and all the lands it holds…I would watch the lives of mortals and help them where I could… I would do what I pleased, when I pleased, and I would have no one to answer to... I would be completely free….. and freedom is such a whimsical thought, indeed.

My friend lands on a thick branch of a tall tree where it hovers over a nest full of baby birds freshly hatched. I curl on my toes when I hear their sounds and I begin climbing the great tree to get closer. It takes me much longer than it should to get there and I'm red faced and sweating by the time I finally reach my destination. The mother checks on her children, hopping around the nest before flying off again in search of food.

I straddle the branch and scoot closer until I'm hovering right over their home.

The babies are red skinned little things with sparse tufts of gray down and large eyes bulging behind their closed lids. They are not very attractive, but one day they will be as beautiful as their mother and I smile down at the promises they hold. Resting my elbows on the bark, I watch them open their mouths, trusting the world to take care of them because they have no means to take care of themselves.

Like me….

"Pretty little birdies," I whisper in a sing song voice to comfort them as I click my heels together underneath the branch with my chin in my hands. "Such lovely little creatures you will be."

I hear footsteps and I look down curiously to find a dark haired youth stopping just short of my oak tree. He is a mortal and I veil myself so he won't see me as he mutters to himself, thinking he's alone as he practices declarations of love. Humans rarely come into this section of my mother's sacred wood and I lean further so I can see the odd creature more scarce to me than birds and caterpillars. I grin when I find he is holding my flower... the yellow one I just made with the four petals and not much else.

"He said yes!"

He hides the flower behind his back at the second voice. This one is a woman... she has long black hair, unruly with frizzy curls tumbling down her back. They are both tan skinned, dark haired, and beautiful. I am quite fond of humans and I smile at their happiness.

"Father said yes!" she says as she jumps into his arms. He grins and catches her, kissing her deeply and setting her carefully on her feet. They are both wearing scratchy wool clothes that are crudely cut and hardly clean.

I have always found the poorest of mortals live the richest of lives...

"Father said we can be married. He is speaking to your father of my dowry now! Oh, I am so happy!"

He laughs and hands her my flower. She takes it and then gives him a beautiful smile before pulling him into another fiery kiss that lasts a good long while. I touch my own lips and wonder what it feels like to do such an act, blushing at the thought but liking it all the same.

I lean over even further to see better, nearly falling off and having to catch myself from tumbling down on top of them.

"I love you," he says, running a hand down her face. "I have loved you ever since you stole that bread from me." She laughs and then starts crying in happiness. "I feel like I have loved you all my life and I will continue to love you until my death takes me home. I swear it here and now in front of the all the gods on Olympus. I can not wait until you are my wife."

"I love you too," she sobs through her grins as she pulls him close once more. "And you will be my husband!"

They start kissing with abandon and I know they will soon start making love. Though the act is foreign to me, I know it's purpose and I have seen it before in the lives of mortals who live near this sacred grove. Mortals and their lovemaking always seemed so hurried and strange…even the noises they make are silly…. but a part of me likes it. A part of me thinks it's kind of beautiful in an ugly sort of way and I have to wonder what it feels like to be had in such a way… To be had not only in lust but in love as well…

I think it must be a wonderful thing to share with another...

"Persephone!"

I blink in surprise and look down to find Artemis wearing a full dress of the deepest green with golden jewelry in the shape of stag antlers around her neck. She cares nothing for the mortals and their physical act of love nearby. Her glares are only for me.

"You said you wouldn't be late!"

"Is it time already?" I ask and she bangs her hand against the tree.

The lovers hear it and they hurry run off into the wilderness together, hand in hand.

"Yes!" she shouts as I start climbing down the tree with my heart thumping in my ears. "Father is calling for you! You must come with me at once!"

"Why?" I ask as I slide down the rest of the way, falling to the ground with a thud. "Why is he calling for me?"

Artemis doesn't answer, she just grabs my hand and yanks me to my feet.

"I need to change," I mumble but she gives me a dark eyed glare.

"There is no time."

We run towards the outside of the forest so we can ascend, letting the light take us home to sparkling Olympus.

The Great Hall is a large, circular space made up of cloud, light, and gold. The walls are scorched with the laws of the gods and men that burn in glowing embers for all time and the ceiling is domed, painted to please with a god's window bringing in the light of the never ending sun. The place is held up by white trees with their twisted branches that grow only in the heavens and the floor is made of the woven metals of the earth… gold, silver, copper, iron… steel… all braided and twisted to form a pattern on the floor.

The Great Father is still calling my name when we run into the Great Council Hall and I push through the herd of deities in the general assembly to make my way towards the front of the room.

"I am here!" I call when he says my name once more. I even raise my hand so he can see as I try to push my way through the sea of my brothers and sisters… "I am present!"

Great Father Zeus sits on his golden throne as proud as ever with his bright eyes surveying me coldly. He's raised on the front dais to show his importance as the God's flame burns in a hundred different colors at his back, cracking and singing the song older than time with purple smoke curling into the air right over his head telling stories of the before and the after to come.

Mighty Lord Poseidon is at his side and he raises an amused eyebrow when I skid in front of them. I try not to look at him for fear of glaring and he dares another toothy grin when I stumble and nearly fall.

"Are you alright?" he asks with a laugh when I straighten myself out.

Lord Poseidon is even broader than my father, with blonde hair and a beard he keeps neatly trimmed. His eyes are pale lavender with a burst of gold around the iris and his golden eyebrows are straight and serious. He wears the colors of his home…shimmering grays, blues, and deep greens with a crown made of bronze and sea shells that he wears slightly tilted to the side like the rogue that he is.

I nod my head in response, pushing down my dress when I find it tangled around my knees.

The throne to the right of my father's is filled by a host I have never seen before… but I know him instantly and I find myself surprised at his attendance. Dread Lord Hades is a stranger to me, but there he sits on a black granite throne. His back stays impossibly straight as his haunted eyes stare into mine and I gulp loudly.

"What a silly little thing…" Lord Poseidon continues with a smirk as he glances down at my bare legs.

He looks towards his brothers like he wanted to share the joke with them, but only my true father humors him with a smile. Lord Hades is too busy glaring me down to respond and I try to tug my skirt down a little further when his eyes flick down to my ankles.

He is an imposing host in all his majesty.

His midnight hair is parted down the side and cut short like a warrior with a twisted crown of tarnished silver intertwined with amethyst, emerald, and onyx to show the wealth of his kingdom. His deep purple eyes sparkle like two deep pools of violet and he has a dark shadow of a beard and mustache starting on his face, though it's not nearly as full or well kept as his brothers...He looks like a mortal who didn't have the time to shave and couldn't bother to present himself despite his station.

I have never seen the three of them in one room and I send a shy look around the hall, noticing that they have brought others from their respectives courts. Ocean blue cloaks for the nymphs and godlings of the sea and black like the dead for the ones from the land of Hades. No wonder the place was so crowded and I have to wonder what was so important to call them all to the heavens….

"What is all over your face?"

I cringe at the voice of my mother and turn to the right where the first of the purple eyed Goddesses are seated away from all the others on their raised thrones of jade and silver. Mother stands up, glaring me down and making me blush.

"Dirt," I admit and there are titters of laughter behind me.

"Persephone," she hisses. "You should be ashamed."

"The dress is indecent," Hera says off hand and I look down at my dress... It is quite ratty and cut just above my knees... like she has forbidden..."And pink," she adds with a scoff.

"I like pink…" I whisper under my breath, not liking the way she's staring at me.

"Now," Father Zeus cuts in and the hall falls silent. "We did not come here to talk about clothes." He looks at me and smiles fondly. "Your mother says you want to take the vow of chastity."

I look towards my mother in surprise and she nods her head.

"Three of your sisters have already pledged themselves to the fire this night," he says, motioning to a group of naiads with the white shawls of Hestia around their shoulders. "By your mother's wishes, you can take your blessed vows now in front of all your brothers and sisters."

My eyes go wide and I look behind me to find Artemis. She blinks out of her surprise long enough to give me an encouraging half smile.

Mother Hestia comes forward with a white veil covering her hair and face as she hums the ancient song of purity. She's holding a golden chalice with the gray oath flame inside and I swallow hard when she gets near because I'm not sure if I want this and it's all happening so fast.

"Daughter Persephone…" She says something else, but I can't hear it with the ringing in my ears.

She is tall... so incredibly tall that I have to tilt my neck up to see her properly. She's a broad shouldered female, with large hands and an athletic build under her silken robes. I have heard stories of how she fought in the War of the Titans harder than any of her brothers, helping to send her father and his siblings to the never ending darkness with her mighty axe before dedicating her immortal life to peace and hearth.

Under the veil I can see her eyes... Purple like my mother's and the rest of the children who were swallowed by Cronus in the before... but hers are darker and more haunted than any of her siblings and her hair is impossibly straight and pale like the moon...just like her eyebrows and eyelashes… making those dark eyes she possess so striking.

"Kneel," she commands and I obey just because I am too nervous to say otherwise.

When I sink to my knees, one of her maidens puts the white shawl over my shoulders. It itches and smells like smoke so I start scratching my arms nervously... looking around again with my throat tight and sweat on my brow as the entire family watches.

Mother Hestia holds the chalice up to the light, the long sleeves of her white gown falling back to reveal her pale arms as a soft music fills the emptiness in the back ground.

"Let it be known that after this night, the maiden Persephone..." I feel like the walls are closing in on me... I feel like I'm suffocating and the shawl is too tight around my shoulders... "—daughter of Great Demeter of the Harvest—" I try to tug the shawl away so I can breathe, but one of the maidens puts it back into place, patting my shoulders and smiling down at me. My insides turn uncomfortably and I stare up at tall Mother Hestia in all her glory as her voice booms over the hall. "And All Mighty Zeus of the Sky— shall forever after—"

Forever after.

Forever is a very long time, indeed.

"Be known as Kore Persephone-" I can't stop thinking about the lovers in the woods. I can't stop thinking about how I would like to be a lover to someone one day too. "Chaste of heart, and mind, and body-"

I can see the fire on the wall… the words starting to form and sealing my fate forever….

"As it is in heaven- Let it be on earth. With this pledge-"

"Wait," I put my hands up and Mother Hestia blinks at me behind her veil.

The hall falls silent as my heart hammers in my chest and Mother Hestia slowly lowers the oath chalice in confusion.

"Just... just wait..." I look to my mother to get her to understand, but I find no sympathy in her lilac eyes as I struggle to my feet. "Just...wait..."

"What is it, child?" the Great Father asks and Mother Hestia moves aside so I can see him.

I look around the room... at all the others who are whispering about me behind their hands and I remove the shawl, balling it up in my hands before realizing that it might be seen as disrespectful... so I hand it off to the white robed maidens with a polite nod of my head.

"I don't know if I want to take the vow," I say and my mother jumps to her feet. "I just... I'm not sure if it's what I want," I whisper as I think of the lovers in the wood again... how happy they seemed and how I would dearly like to kiss someone one day.

"Persephone!" My mother hisses again and I wince at her voice.

Father Zeus puts his hand up to silence her and the glare she gives him could set mountains ablaze, but she obeys him all the same and settles back on her chair.

"Come here," he commands, beckoning me forward as he leans his elbows on his thighs.

I inhale a deep breath before walking to him, my hands shaking nervously now that everyone is staring so intently. When I get close enough, Father takes my right hand in between his large palms and he sighs loudly. His hair is a red color like mine, but his is darker like my mother's... a beautiful, rich auburn that shines under the divine lights of Olympus.

"You have upset your mother," he says and I feel guilty, putting my head down because I am forever disappointing her. "But it is not your mother who has to take this vow," he says and I glance at him in surprise.

I do not hate my Great Father.

I never could.

I do not love him as some daughters love their fathers but I am fond of him and a part of me is grateful to be counted as his…There are worse father's to have and Lord Zeus is the mightiest host there ever was or will be. I know there is safety, even prestige, in sharing his blood.

I also know in my heart of hearts that this smiling, handsome, father of mine is deceitful underneath it all and I do not like the way he looks at me sometimes…..Like he was waiting for something to appear inside of me that I could never understand…Mother says he does not respect the sacred femininity in all of us, and I would do well to remember that...whatever that means...

Lord Poseidon moves beside us to grab his goblet and he smiles at the pretty nymph who fills his cup before turning to me once more.

Although I have my spiteful feelings towards Lord Poseidon for what he did to my mother all those years ago, I can not find it in me to hate him either. Not because I think what he did is acceptable... but because my own mother can not find it in her heart to despise him completely.

We were born from the same womb, she had told me once, explaining her civility towards the man who had taken her against her will... and suffered in the stomach of our father for years in the darkness...She rarely spoke of the life she had before her brothers and sisters staked their claim over everything there ever was or will be, but when she did, her eyes were sad and she seemed like a completely different person. We woke up to a bloody battle that lasted longer than you can even imagine...A battle that rages still in our hearts and minds...

She forgave a lot of her brothers and sisters because of what happened in the before... but Father Zeus had seduced her long after their torments. She said she did not want it at first, but consented in a moment of weakness after he pursued her relentlessly. It ruined the relationship forever with her most beloved sister Hera... but it was not forced...and I was a child born of consent which is why my mother claims she loves me best.

"It is a personal choice that each woman must make on her own. No one can make that decision for you."

I nod my head in understanding.

"You must remember," he continues, rubbing my hand between his and making it warm. "If you give up your maidenhood, the vow can not protect you afterward."

I nod again and blush so deeply I feel like my face will catch fire.

"Can I ask why you want to go against your mother's wishes?" he asks, a auburn brow raised. "Have you promised yourself to another?"

I swallow hard and shake my head.

"It's not that," I explain and his eyes flash something fierce. "And I don't want to embarrass my mother," I say, looking towards her to make her see. "I am sorry," I say so she will understand, but she just glares at me in return. I look back at Father and blink hard as I sort out my thoughts. "It's just..." I struggle with what I want to say and then I glance to the right... where Lord Hades is sitting.

His chin is tilted down and black hair is falling across his brows with his purple eyes intense and focused right on my face. I promptly look away and feel a blush creep up my neck at the realization that I have even his undivided attention.

"I just..." I trail off and swallow again, finding something unpleasant lodged in my throat. "I just..."

"You just, what?" Father asks, his patience running thin and my stomach twists to see his eyes narrow dangerously.

"I just…" I inhale a shaky breath and try to be honest. " I don't think it would be so bad to have a husband."

"Legendary words," Lord Poseidon says with a smirk as a few hosts laugh behind their hands.

Father chuckles at the joke and then he brings my hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss against my knuckles. His mustache tickles my skin, but I don't dare pull back.

"Go to your sisters," he says, letting go of my hand.

I bow my head in respect before running off and standing by Artemis in the general assembly. I cross my arms uncomfortably and try to make myself as small as possible as others send me side eyed looks of amusement.

"Now that bit of drama is over," Father says and everyone laughs. My ears burn and I catch the eyes of Apollo as he leans against one of the trees. He's staring at me so oddly now and I look away quickly when he smirks. "We didn't call you here to just have girls talk about virginity."

He stands up, placing a hand on his heavy belt and tilting his chin up to address the hall in all his divine splendor.

"From this day, there is a new law of land, sky, and water," he starts, making sure that it's being written on the walls in time with his voice. The symbols are blazing yellow fire that fade into burned lines with the rest of the decrees along the outer edges of the hall. "Let it be known that the earth born mortals whose souls have been three times in the land of the living shall ascend to the Isles of the Blessed with the beloved of our kind. "

A few whisper at that, and Father puts his hand up to silence them.

"They will be awarded with this honor only by achieving great Elysium after each mortal death. Brother Hades believes this is the only way their willful souls will find peace at last and he finds it a fitting reward for lives well lived."

He sits down at that and the others who are far more versed than I in the life and death of mortals start to whisper about the development. Artemis turns to say something to me about it, but stops short.

"Peace at last," Mother Hera says and we all look at her as she stands up. Her dress is crimson and embroidered with golden feathers, matching the clothes of her noble husband. "I have another motion to present if we are changing things in the land of Hades in regards to the souls of mortals," she says, clasping her hands in front of her as Father sits back in his chair, looking displeased by her voice. "I move that all mortal women who die in childbirth be granted automatic entrance into Elysium. Women go to war each time they bear a child and no one sings their praises but me and sisters."

A few women nod in agreement... even a few men too.

"If that's where we're going," Loud Ares steps forward with a hand on the hilt of his mighty sword. His hair is flaming red, the color of blood to match his temper. Artemis once told me that he dyes it that way to seem more fierce in battle… but the thought of a seasoned warrior like Ares putting that much effort into his appearance makes me laugh. "Why not all soldiers who die in battle? I move that every man who dies in war be granted paradise in the land of Hades!"

The hall erupts with voices arguing over one another... Everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter, but silence falls when Lord Hades stands up.

"Only the most virtuous and honorable among mortals will gain access to Elysium. This is a law written before most of you were born," he says, his voice booming across the hall in a deep, dark baritone.

Everyone seems so shocked to hear him speak… to see him stand before us as tall and proud as any other.

"It doesn't matter how they died," he reminds the stunned and silent hall. "It only matters how they lived and living is not easy. Who among us could claim the honor had we been mortal?" he asks, his black eyebrows furrowed as he looks along the hall and then to the mother goddesses in their high chairs to the right of the room. "Not one," he continues coldly with his eyes focused on my mother. She abruptly looks away to dismiss him but I do see the hint of a surprising blush dotting her cheeks. "Not one of us would be rewarded for the lives we have led. When Chaos comes to swallow the light, it is the righteous souls who will be left to inherit the earth long after we have said our goodnights."

An awkward silence falls as he sits back down and Father Zeus stares at his brother for a moment before erupting in a hearty laugh.

"I forget how pleasant you are!" he says loudly to break the tension. "Now it's been said. Now it's been written. As it is in heaven… Let it be on earth." He makes a motion with his hand to end the meeting. "Let us feast!" he shouts, smacking his hands together and ignoring the glares of his wife and son. "This has all gotten far too serious!"

Music begins playing and ambrosia appears on circular tables throughout the room, with fountains spouting nectar from the mouths of marble animals.

"That was..." Artemis trails and I turn to her. "Well, what do you think?"

"I don't know," I whisper, my hands still shaking.

"I—" she stops and looks over my shoulder.

"What is it?" I ask with my brows raised. "What is it?" I ask a little more forcefully when her eyes widen the slightest bit. "Is it my mother?" I whisper before my arm is grabbed and I'm whipped around.

"I hope you're happy," my mother says seriously as she drags me away from the commotion. She's yanking too hard and it hurts, but I don't voice my displeasure in fear of her wrath. "Look at the way your brothers stare at you now," she snaps as she yanks a shawl away from a passing nymph.

The girl frowns before realizing it was a Great Mother who stole it from her, and she bows gracefully before running off as my mother wraps the blue shawl around my shoulders.

"Circling like buzzards now that you've told everyone you have no intention of remaining a virgin." She looks me dead in the eyes to show me her anger. "You went against my word, Persephone. We talked about this—"

"No, you talked about it," I say as she licks her thumb to rub the dirt from my face. I back away, as much as I dare before trying to get her to see. "I don't know what I want yet and you just keep telling me what I should do before letting me think it through myself. I am a woman now. You keep telling me that, so why can't I make my own decisions?"

"You want to lay with men," she says shortly. "You have made that clear, but have I not taught you anything? There is no happiness in lust. It will swallow you whole and you will be left with nothing."

"But it brought me to you," I tell her gently and her eyes soften the slightest bit. "Lust and love can not be as terrible as you make them out to be."

"It is a sweet, fleeting poison," she admits. "You will be had and left with a child just as I was every time my brother's took what they wanted from me. I can not want that hardship and heartache for you." She takes my hand. "The men of our kind are not made for an honest love and theirs is a cruel world of abandonment. You should have taken the vow this night. You should have done as I said."

"You didn't even let me know this was going to happen when I came here."

"I didn't think it mattered," she says hotly as she drops my hand. "It was already decided."

"You decided," I mumble and her eyes inflame with anger.

I let the shawl fall down my arms and she forces it back into place, tying it in the front to cover my arms and chest.

"You know nothing of the world we live in," she says seriously. "You act like it's all just a dream but it's not and you should know better after all I've taught you. There is no safety in this world and that love you dream about is the rarest of gifts not given to the likes of us. You are far too young to even understand."

"How could I understand?" I ask spitefully. "You never let me do anything or go anywhere..."

"I am your mother. I know what is best for you and I know how wicked life can be. I am just trying to protect you, but you seem to be doing all in your power to cause me pain."

"I'm not trying to hurt you," I whisper honestly. "I just want more time to think about things... is all."

"I have tried to give you every comfort that was denied to me when I was young and foolish," she whispers. "You have no idea how lucky you are. How loved you've been…" She trails off, her eyes far away and haunted.

I know what she's thinking about. About her birth… about the father that swallowed her whole... and the hell that followed…Years in the darkness could make monsters of men, she had told me once. But she was not a man. She was a fighter and a survivor… Brave, beautiful, intelligent, and completely in control of her body and mind.

She is everything I am not.

"I have been you, Persephone. I know what it is to wonder about things like love and marriage. I know what it is to be optimistic…. But you have to see… You have to know that I'm not just doing things to be cruel... or without purpose. You are the only true love I have ever known and no one will ever love you as much as I have."

She brings her hand up and plucks a few leaves from my tangled hair, sighing gently as she lets them fall to the ground. She has her hair up with auburn curls framing her lovely face and she's wearing an off the shoulder dress that's a deep, dark purple that nearly looks black in the darkened halls. It's perfectly fitted around her shapely body, cinched at her waist with a woven belt of black leather. Mother has a woman's body. That's what Artemis calls it. She says I have one too… but I hardly know how to use it.

"You will remember that in time," she whispers gently when she sees my lower lip tremble.

People say I have inherited my mother's looks and now that I have finally reached my God's age… the point where my time stops and I will never grow older… I can't help but compare myself to her in all things and find that I come up short time and time again...

"I have lived long and know much, my darling." She notices that my eyes are getting wet and she brushes my tears away. "I want you to be happy. I want to protect you from heartache the best I can. Perhaps I have sheltered you too much, but you know my motivations. You know what has happened to me and what happens still to our sisters," she says, looking around the hall where the others are laughing and dancing to lovely music. "You are too trusting… Too naive… Too beautiful. The world is not kind to beautiful little fools."

"Mother. I—"

"Come," she grabs my hand. "It is time for us to leave."

She starts walking us to the exit and I don't have the strength to fight her as I keep my head down so the other's won't see my emotions.

"Sister."

The voice is chilling and we both stop dead in our tracks when we hear it. Mother looks before I do and her face falls into a stony mask of indifference.

"May I have a moment?"

I turn to look at Lord Hades over my shoulder, my eyes still burning with unwanted tears that I hope he doesn't see. Now that he's standing on our level, he towers over the both of us. He's dressed in fine black fabric with a thick cloak around his shoulders and his eyes shine eerily in the nearby torchlight.

"Of course, brother," my mother replies, her voice tight and unpleasant.

She turns to me, fussing with the shawl again before grabbing my arms.

"Go stand with good Athena," she orders gently. "Do not leave her side and I will find you shortly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mother," I whisper, not wanting to disappoint her again.

She smiles at me before turning to her brother to do the same. It's a closed mouthed smile that does not reach her eyes as she glides towards him with her flowered feet against the ground. While she approaches, Lord Hades stares me down over her right shoulder with his head tilted slightly to the side. His gaze is piercing and focused and I find his attention dreadfully uncomfortable.

I have never been more aware of my unkempt appearance... wishing I was clean and wearing something decent so his judging eyes would have something more pleasing to dissect.

He offers his arm to my mother and she takes it as they disappear into the crowd.

I hesitate a second before doing as my mother ordered and finding Athena. She is sitting down on one of the benches, her proud head surveying the crowd in a gown of purest white with golden clasps at her shoulders.

"Good day, dear sister," she says as I sit beside her.

"Good day," I say as she takes a drink from her glass. I go to say more, but she cuts me off...

"You know," she starts, her voice is strong and deeper than mine. She has always commanded more respect... more confidence than I ever could. "I often wonder what it would be like to have a mother," she says and I look at her in surprise. Her long, dark hair is braided over her shoulder and she's wearing a headband of pearls and silk. "I also wonder about having a daughter of my own."

She smiles as she looks into the sea of people, her silver eyes gleaming in the light of the god's flame with her pearly teeth lined in a pretty row.

"And then I am reminded of how lucky I am," she continues, tilting her head gently. "For there is no one to disappoint and no one to disappoint me."

My ears burn at the insult, but I have no courage to say anything witty or clever in reply, so I just kind of hum in agreement. She takes another drink, not once looking at me as I play with the shawl that mother tied far too tightly. When the silence gets to be too much, I open my mouth to comment on something boring like the clothes another is wearing... but she beats me to it...

"I often wonder how the others can enjoy such festivities," she says and I inwardly roll my eyes. "I hear the cries and prayers of my people day and night. They never cease." She finally glances at me and I give her a half smile that makes her blink and turn away. "I hear them now in my head, begging favor for their cities or their loved ones. They beg for mercy and the relief only I can give them. If I dedicated all my time to answering each prayer of a subject who deserved it, then there would still not be enough time left to reach them all."

I nod my head like I understand and she looks to me again, her eyes dancing along my indecent dress and messy hair before settling on the crown of flowers.

"It must be nice," she says, looking into my eyes. "To not have anyone pray to you or try to win your favor. I imagine it is peaceful in your head."

I open my mouth to reply again, but she starts talking before I can.

"What is it you do with your time, sister?" she asks, her brows slightly furrowed like she just couldn't understand how I existed in her world. "I imagine it gets quite boring having nothing to do."

I huff and open my mouth to defend myself, but a god of another sort cuts me off and I curl my hand in frustration before I see who it is... Beautiful Apollo, with his tanned skin and dark eyes is standing before us and he smiles at sister Athena before turning to me after she coldly ignores him.

"Little sister," he says, a sparkling smile on his face as he bows down. "Would you take a walk with me?"

I look at gray eyed Athena, wanting to see her reaction but just finding her mildly bored as she stares back at the party.

"Yes," I say, taking his offered hand and letting him pull me away from that awful bench and awful Athena.

I know mother said to stay by her, but has she ever sat that long with my sister? I am sure she would not find it agreeable.

"How much has noble Athena been wondering about this night?" Apollo asks, a boyish grin on his face as he snakes my arm through his. "She is always wondering about things in all her majesty, you know."

I laugh a little at that and he turns to see me smile, catching the blush on my cheeks to have his attention and smirking at the display.

"The court of Hades are really quite dour, are they not?" he asks as we pass a group of pale skinned nymphs cloaked in the black robes of the underworld.

"They do seem quite serious," I admit as they stand in a circle… not talking or laughing… or really even looking at anything as their black eyes stare at the ground in solace.

"One has to wonder what it is like in Lord Hades' darkened halls if this is how they act on Olympus," he says, smiling a little when I look at his profile. "We can be grateful we are not tasked with going down where the sun can not reach. It seems that is a sure way to wither the happiness of life."

I nod in agreement and a silence falls between us as we walk through the hall...passing the deities of old and spirits of nature who find pleasures in each other.

"You have grown into such a fine form," he says, his voice much more serious once we get into outside of the hall, where people are scarce and lighting is darker. "I appreciate your wildness," he says, taking in my dirty feet and hands. "As I have always admired your beauty. It is a rare thing to have both, you understand."

"Thank you," I say, blushing as I push hair behind my ears.

"Do you find me beautiful too?" he questions, stopping by one of the white trees and propping his hand against it... trapping me with his body.

"Yes," I admit, staring up at him with my heart hammering at his closeness.

"So... I am beautiful," he starts, smiling to himself as he reaches out to move the shawl away from my shoulder. "You are beautiful..." Things feel much heavier now and he looks deeply into my eyes as he places his hand on my cheek. "We are beautiful..."

"Brother."

I sigh in relief when he turns in annoyance to his sister Artemis.

"What?" he says harshly as I peek over his shoulder to see my friend standing there with young Hermes on her arm.

"Aphrodite wants you to play a song," she smiles bitterly at him.

"I'm busy," he says, turning back to me with his hand playing with the strap of my dress.

"She insists," Artemis presses. "And you know how angry she gets when you do not give into her wishes."

Apollo's jaw tightens for a moment and the hand that's resting by my head curls into a frustrated fist.

"If she insists," he says through gritted teeth before turning to his sister with that dazzling smile of his. "Who am I to deny such a woman her pleasures?"

Artemis offers to walk him to his lyre, leaving me and sweet faced Hermes alone. He has light brown hair, with youthful features, and eyes of deepest blue.

"I guess that leaves you and I," he says, smiling a dimpled smile at me as he approaches. He is wearing his famed sandals, with the blessed wings at his ankles and a blue cloak thrown over his left shoulder. "Shall we listen to his song?" he asks, holding out his arm for me to take.

Hermes is quite small... only slightly taller than me and thin, though his muscles are nicely defined under his skin. We take a seat on one of the benches as Apollo readies himself nearby and I watch Hermes from the corner of my eyes as he sits back.

He would be a good husband...

When his blue eyes look into mine... I turn away quickly with a blush.

"I heard a story about our brother Apollo and his famous lyre," he starts when Apollo starts to play a lovely song.

"Have you?" I ask, glancing at him and smiling. "I've heard a few myself."

"Ah, well, this is a grisly tale," he says as he sits forward to whisper in my ear. "I heard that a satyr named Marsyas had challenged our dear brother to a music contest."

"Did he?" I smirk. "I am sure that did not go over well."

"It did not," he replies, another dimpled smile on his face. "The muses were the judges and it was agreed that whoever won could do as he pleased to the defeated," he says, nodding to the colorful women dancing in the middle of the hall. "The competition was fierce and it went on for days... until Apollo was rightly declared the winner."

"Did the surprise anyone?" I joke, but Hermes does not smile.

"No," he says seriously. "But what Apollo decided to do next surprised a great many people."

"What was it?" I asked, confused by the heaviness in his voice. "What did he do?"

"He had the poor creature tied to a tree and flayed alive." I cover my mouth. "His skin cut bit by bit from his persons as his screams of agony rang over the mountains. After he perished, our dear brother nailed Marsyas' skin to an old oak tree to rot and did not allow his body to be buried for nine days."

"That is awful."

He nods. "More awful still is that it was not the satyr who challenged him," he admits. "That was the lie he told our Father, but I was watching and I know the truth. Apollo in his jealousy forced the creature to compete, not hinting towards the fate he had in mind. He should have been punished for his cruelty," he admits in a low voice. "But he has always curried favor with those who are most important."

"Why would he do such a thing?"

Hermes shrugs. "The rage of Chaos is in all our blood," he explains, smiling at me when he sees how disgusted I look. "It always creeps up us on one way or another."

I can not look at handsome Apollo the same way again and I turn away from his playing, refusing to listen to his sweet song.

"Would you like to go outside?" Hermes asks when he notices my dismay. "The endless night has blazing stars of all colors on display and I dare say they will be better company."

I take his hand and look around quickly to make sure Mother is not watching before letting him pull me from the hall. We end up outside, in the Endless Gardens where the never ending night surrounds the greenery and flowers like a blanket. Great stars shine down from above and green flamed torches light the path as we enter the reflection pools. Where still waters in large metal bowls sit undisturbed for all time in reverence to the Titans that are locked forever in the bowels of the earth.

Inside each pool are memories of the ancient war. They show bloody battle scenes with monsters, gods, and creatures of the earth...

"That is Cronus," he comes near to the pool I am hovering over and points to the silver haired man with blazing red eyes. "Is he not fierce looking?"

"He is," I admit as I watch him beat to death a large cyclops with his bare fists.

This was the man who ate my mother in her infancy… The father who swallowed his children… and he was a frightening thing to behold. A well built man with youth on his features...He wore armor of shining black metal as he used his mighty sickle to cut off the cyclops's head…He held it up to show his brothers, smiling my mother's smile in a way that chilled me.

He resembled Lord Hades in his face… Strong features and a sharp nose… He had Lord Poseidon's slanted eyes and broad shoulders… and Father Zeus' arrogance and shining pride…

He was impossibly beautiful...

"And look here…" Hermes grabs my wrist and pulls me to another pool. "Prometheus," he whispers as a goldened haired man comes into view. "Friend of man and friend of ours until…." He trails off, not wanting to finish the god's awful fate. Golden haired Prometheus was fighting a large, barrel chested god full of strength who had a long beard of bronze hair. "Atlas," Hermes answers when he sees the question on my features. "The strongest Titan there ever was. And look in the back..." He points beyond the two Titans where another fight is taking place in the heavens. "Mother Hera…." Her hair is cut short and she is wearing the armor of a man. "Who would have thought she had it in her?"

"Would you have fought, brother Hermes?" I ask softly and he nods his head.

"Of course I would have." He juts his chest out proudly. "I may be small, but I am quick. They wouldn't have even known what hit them."

I smile and he smirks.

"What of you, dear sister? Would your sweet little form have taken up arms against them?"

"Yes," I whisper and he smiles fondly. "I would have."

"I am tired of this..."

That's my mother's voice.

I drop to my knees to hide behind the pool, pulling Hermes down by his cloak when her voice draws near…

"I don't know what you want from me…"

"What are you doing?" Hermes whispers, but I cover his mouth before he can ask more.

"I don't want anything from you."

Hermes raises his brows at the voice of Lord Hades and he smiles when I lower my hand. He peeks his head over the pool to see for himself as he hikes his cloak back over his shoulder.

"You always want something," my mother says, her voice hard and without warmth. "Everyone always wants something…"

I tilt up to see too, eyes peeking just above the edge of the pool as Mother and Great Lord Hades pass. He has his hands clasped behind his back, his brows furrowed and thoughtful as my mother holds his crown. Her slim fingers play with the stones absentmindedly as she stares straight ahead, like she couldn't be bothered to even look at him.

"Is that how you view me?" Lord Hades asks sharply. His voice betraying his emotions. Emotions that confuse me... "Am I like everyone else?"

"No," she says sharply, narrowing her eyes at the distance "You are worse."

They stop for a moment to stare each other down before Lord Hades' purple eyes slide slightly to the left… where me and Hermes are spying from behind the pool. I widen my eyes when we make eye contact and panic, falling down against the ground and pulling my brother with me. I clench my eyes shut and hold my breath, curled in a ball as I wait for my mother to come yell at me in the worst way… but nothing comes and I dare to peek my head up again to find that they are gone… taking their conversation with them….

I sigh in relief.

"Lord Hades is always so gloomy," Hermes points out as I sit on the ground, exhaling slowly and resting my back against the pool. "One thinks he must have been born with a frown on his face."

"You see him often?" I ask, tilting my head when he sits right beside me.

"More than most," he admits as I bring a hand up to my neck, finding my skin prickling oddly. "I have the honor of presenting the noble dead to his chambers. He's always so very serious. I think the world would swallow itself if he smiled."

"Is he cruel?" I wonder, asking a question I never thought to ask before this night.

"Not particularly," he shrugs his small shoulders, stretching out his legs beside mine… Even his feet are small... "He is mostly just serious and boring. So boring," he rolls his eyes and I laugh a little. "He does not rule with his emotions like some deities of Olympus. He is quite stern, but fair in his judgements as far as I can tell. I suppose that is what happens when you sever yourself from love and passion. One always has a clear head when there are no matters of the heart to be had. "

"What do you think my mother was speaking to him about?"

You always want something… She had accused and he had answered with more emotion than my brother gave him credit for.

"Who knows," Herme's shrugs again, turning to me and letting his knee brush my thigh. "There is a history between all the Mother's and Father's that we could never comprehend," he explains, smiling at me. "I would not want to be in their confidence. I'm sure all their deepest secrets are horrors of horrors."

"Horrors," I repeat. "Don't we all have them?"

"Not you," he says, his eyes sparkling with warmth. "There is no horror to be had in your mind, I am sure."

I smile at him, my eyes softening before he lifts his hand to my face.

"May I?" he asks and I furrow my brows, unsure of what he's doing as he uses his thumb to wipe something from my face.

When I realize that it's mud, I blush…. but I don't look away as he smiles at me so sweetly. Hermes might be a good husband… I can see the kindness in his eyes and feel the gentleness of his touch. He might be a good lover too…

"Persephone," my mother's voice brings all of my thoughts to a screeching halt and I look to her quickly.

She stands only a yard away, red faced and angry with her hands on her hips. She looks at brother Hermes before coming towards me and grabbing my arm, pulling me up and walking us towards the gates without saying another word…

We walk past Lord Hades with his shining eyes … past the court of all three domains as they dance and play well into the night...and past sister Artemis who waves me off with a hopeful goodbye….

Mother brings us to her home, veiled in the sacred wood on earth and she huffs as she takes off her jewelry, her attendants coming out to help her disrobe.

"What were you speaking with Lord Hades about?" I ask curiously as I start fingering a hole in my dress.

"You need to take a bath," she says sharply instead of answering my question. "You are filthy."

"But mother..."

"Now," she gives me a glare over her shoulder to dismiss me. "Go clean yourself."

I go to fight her on it, but decide it's not worth it and I nod my head before doing as she commands. As I clean my body in the warm spring, I start thinking about my Mother and the other purple eyed Gods on Olympus with all their horrors…. And then I start thinking about Brother Hermes, smiling a little to myself as I pick the twigs from my hair.

After a few moments of solitude, a wood nymph comes forward to help.

"Leada," I say her name as she moves in the water, making a splash as she drops behind me. She is an ageless beauty who has been in my care since I was a little girl and she's one of my mother's trusted companions. "Have you ever made love?"

"Many times," she answers softly as she dumps water over my head. She uses the soap and oil to clean my hair, getting the tangles out with her fingers.

"But you have no children," I muse as I wash my face clean of dirt and mud.

"I am not a fertile goddess like you or your mother," she admits and I feel the smile on her face. "I was not made to carry babies."

"Did you like it?" I question, thinking of the mortals in the wood and then thinking of my mother… who never found any pleasure in it. "Making love, I mean."

"When you do an act many times, it is usually because you enjoy it," she answers and I look over my shoulder to catch her smiling.

"What does it feel like?"

"I suppose it feels different for everyone," she answers as she starts twisting my hair up, using the jade clips my mother gave me to hold it in place so she can wash my shoulders. "It has felt different for me each time. But if done correctly, a sensation will build inside of your body and for a brief moment it bursts with the most pleasurable feeling you could ever have. It is quite wonderful," she admits. "But…"

She trails off and I turn to look at her again.

"You do not need another to have that feeling," she admits seriously as she rubs the scented cloth over my arms and back. "A woman's body is a garden and you can till the soil yourself. Although it is better-"

"That is enough, Leada."

My mother walks in and glares at the nymph. Leada bows her head before climbing out of the water, her pale tunic wet and dripping as she disappears from the room. Mother grabs a robe and holds it open for me, signaling the end of my bath. She averts her gaze as I stand up and I walk towards her slowly, almost dreading what she will say next.

I was raised by women.

I was taught not to be ashamed of my body or the body of others… but thinking of brother Hermes makes me aware of my nakedness and I tighten the robe around my body when a chill takes me as we walk from the spring. When we get to my bedchamber, mother sits me down and stands behind me, removing the clips from my hair so it goes tumbling down my back.

"I heard an awful story this night," she says gently as she braids my hair like she used to do when I was a girl. "A story of horror that can unfold when lust is paired with a beautiful girl."

I furrow my brows, staring at the ground as I await her lesson.

"There was a lovely mortal in the employee of your sister Athena. A golden haired priestess who had vowed herself to the chaste goddess in all things."

"What was her name?" I ask softly as mother ties the end of the braid off with a ribbon.

"Medusa," she answers, moving to sit beside my on the bench. "She was a beautiful mortal, and soon Lord Poseidon noticed how fine her form was."

Her eyes tighten at the mention of her brother and she takes my hand gently.

"As always happens, my brother took what he wanted on the altar of Athena with no regard to the girl or consent of her persons."

"He forced her," I whisper, knowing it to be true as my mother nods her head.

"He left her there, and the wrath of your sister Athena came down upon her. Her glorious head of golden hair was transformed into a thousand little snakes that hiss and bite at each other night and day. Her beautiful eyes were turned into blackest night with scales growing all over her once fair skin. She was thrown into a Gorgon pit with the others of her condition and anyone who dares look upon the face that had once held so much beauty shall be turned to stone."

"But…" I furrow my brows. "But it wasn't her fault. Why would she be punished for something so awful done to her?"

"Because the rage of Chaos blinds us all," she says gently. "Men and women alike. There is no safety in this world, my darling. Your brothers… my brothers… they feel themselves entitled to our bodies. They feel themselves entitled to our love too. They may seem sweet at first… they may seem kind, and warm, and worthy of love… but Chaos boils all their blood and soon you will see their violence rise to the surface against you. Instead of protecting each other against such actions, our sisters become enraged by the perceived weakness and we hate ourselves more than we hate them."

She touches my face.

"Men may be stronger of body, but they are not stronger of spirit. That is their great tragedy and ours is that we are inclined to forgive them anything as long as they want us when we want them. It is an awful thing to want love, but only get savagery in return."

She lets her hand drop and her purple eyes dance over my face.

"Your brother Apollo may be handsome," she says as my cheeks redden in a blush. "Your brother Hermes may be clever… I know your body is awake and you want the pleasures love can bring… but trust me when I say it doesn't last and soon those that are handsome and clever will become your greatest tormenter no matter how kind they may seem."

"It can't all be bad," I whisper softly, trying to remember the happiness of the mortals in the forest.

"You are so much more than you could ever imagine," she says, her eyes sparkling as she smiles at me. "Always remember that. Remember who and what you are. You are my beloved daughter. You are smart, you are beautiful, you are kind, and you are understanding. You are strong, and talented, and important, and brave. You are perfect and one day the whole world will know your name. You will not change for anyone, especially not for a man. A wife can not run wild in the forest," she says as she brings my hand up to her lips. "A wife can not step where she pleases. A wife can not say no without invivinting scorn."

"Neither can a daughter," I mumble.

She shakes her head.

"That's not true. I have tried to protect you, not lock you away from the world like a husband is want to do… but I realize you have reached your God's age and it is not my place to stand up walls around the life you want to live. I want you to know freedom. All women should… but all that I ask is that you keep yourself surrounded with trusted nymphs of my choosing. Just to ease my mind. I know you will do nothing that is awful, but I want you to have backup in case something arises you can not handle on your own. You know what can happen to lovely girls out on their own, even those of the golden glow are not protected from such betrayals. "

She smiles a little.

"Would you like that?"

"I can go where I like?"

"Wherever you like," she whispers, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. "Sleep now," she says, standing up and smiling down at me. "And feel better tomorrow."

She leaves and I crawl into my bed… with thoughts of life, and love, and perfect flowers.

It's all so very whimsical that I feel myself giddy like a girl until sleep comes to take me with it's dreams of freedom, and darkness, and a lovely face surrounded by snakes in a Gorgon's pit.

The meadow is oddly quiet and I look up at the sun as a group of birds pass overhead.

They disappear into the clouds as I pick a pink wild flower, tucking it behind my ear for safe keeping as I muse on life, love, and family. My nymph companions play by the water and I walk further into the grass, collecting flowers to pass the time while keeping a safe distance away from them.

With all the freedom allowed to me, I find myself not really wanting to venture that far, but a weight has been removed from my chest and I think one day I will test the limits of my mother's words.

But that day is not today.

"Persephone," Acaste calls for me, her tanned hand in the air to wave me down as I walk even further into the meadow to escape her and her sister. My mother's spies are not my favorite people in the world and I find them incredibly annoying. "Come here! We have found a rabbit."

"We have found a rabbit," I mock, doing a silly voice to make fun of her own high pitched squeal.

"Oh, it is so cute!" chubby cheeked Admeta laughs as she picks the creature up. Letting it flop around in her thick arms as it attempts to flee her embrace. "Oh, you must come near!"

"You must come near," I jeer as I go over to a pile of dirt and start kicking it with my barefeet. "I'm not going anywhere near you or that stupid rabbit," I grumble under my breath, wanting to run free in the woods… looking at the animals and listening to the wind… but knowing they would just take off after me and ruin it all.

Perhaps I will visit sister Artemis… and run wild with her and her maidens across the world...Artemis would surely know how to get away from my mother's spies.

"Persephone!"

I screw my face up in a scowl, hating my own name now that it is called so often.

Dark clouds roll overhead and I look up at the sky, tilting my head and wondering about rain as a stag comes from the forest... running frantically with it's hooves beating the ground mercilessly.

"Where are you going?" I ask as it passes me, it's antler nearly nicking my arm as I spin to watch it bound away. "Is a storm coming?"

Once it's gone and out of sight, I go back to the pile of dirt and start kicking it just to have something to do. I kick, and stomp, and I get down to dig my hands through it when I see a dazzling flower just out of the corner of my eye. It's seems to glitter like a godly thing and the sun shines down on it through a break in the dark clouds like it was made just for me. I crawl towards it with my head tilted as Admeta and Acaste continue to call for me in the distance.

It is yellow... with six petals... and a pink center bursting forth like a star.

My perfect flower.

I grin at the peculiar thing and reach forward to pluck it from it's home with my knees on the grass... but it disintegrates in my hand, slipping through my fingers into a pile of ash...

"What?" I whisper in confusion, my brows furrowed in a line as thunder sounds overhead.

I poke a finger into the ashes before the earth moves... slightly at first before shaking so suddenly it's like someone was violently ripping it from the center. I jump up when a large number of mice scurry past, crawling over my feet and all around as they seek shelter far away from the quaking earth.

More thunder bangs the heavens and I look up, furrowing my brows to hear the fury of Father Zeus.

"Acaste!" I call for the nymphs when a nest of snakes follow, slithering through the tall grass and over my toes. "Admeta!" I plead as the ground rattles so hard it makes me lose my footing.

I end up falling down, landing hard on my back and smacking my head against the ground with another violent jerk. I wince in pain and bring a hand up to my head as I let go of my flowers. Mother Gaia sings her song underneath me and I only catch the end of her warning before it's cut off abruptly.

"What?" I whisper again, hoping someone will answer as the earth goes still.

I stand up and look around the meadow with my hands in my hair. Where are those silly nymphs? Why are they not here the one time I actually want their company? Why am I all of a sudden so alone?

"Acaste?" I call again, trying to see them in the distance. "Admeta?"

I start fingering a hole in my dress nervously and I go to step towards the river… but a loud scratching noise fills the air and stops me short. It's coming from right underneath me and I move back quickly, watching the earth as it starts to rumble like there were a thousand horses trampling the ground…

"What is happening?" I whisper to myself before a loud crack fills the air.

My head snaps up at the noise before a deafening silence falls. The meadow becomes an empty shell, void of sound and eerily quiet as the fear grips my heart…I turn around in a circle, trying to find a reason for it all before a loud horn blares. It sounds like a war cry and the earth starts breaking apart...Cracking like an eggshell all around me.

"Mother!" I shout, hoping she will hear me as a strange noise comes up from the darkness…It sounds like wails and pleas of tortured souls and their haunting song is painful to hear. "Mother!" I scream again as the earth starts moving, places of the meadow shooting up and places going down as the ground shifts underneath me. "Mother, please!"

I turn to make a run for it, weaving my way around the changing earth and jumping over deep valleys with my hands pressed to my ears...but before I reach the trees, the earth explodes in front of me, sending me flying back as dirt rains down on the meadow.

A loud horn sounds again as I struggle to my feet, trying not to cry from the pain as a great chariot comes from the earth. It's pulled by four strong horses as dark as night with terrible white eyes and smoke rolling from their nostrils like they had fires burning in their bellies.

I widen my eyes to see such a sight, but there is not much time to think before they turn and start running straight for me.

I trip and stumble to escape them. Falling and pulling myself up again as I cut my feet and hands against the unforgiving ground that had once been so plush with wildflowers. The terrible horses catch up with me and strong arms come to encircle my waist from behind when I nearly fall into one of the pits.

"Be quiet," a voice says as the stranger yanks me into the cart.

I look up to see Lord Hades, his eyes narrowed and his jaw ticking in anger as he struggles to keep me against him.

"No!" I scream, trying to get away, but his strong arm holds me firm against his chest as he jerks the reins… forcing the horses to run back towards the gaping hole in the earth. "No!" I yell desperately, not understanding what is happening but knowing deep down I want no part of it. "No! Help me! Mother!"

"Stop it," he hisses, holding me so tightly it hurts. "Stop your screaming."

"Mother! Please!" I call one last time before the horses leap into the darkness.

I turn and grip his cloak, holding on tightly in fear as we fall through into the ground… the air is stale and my hair moves violently with the descent as Lord Hades keeps his muscles tense against me. The further we go, the darker it gets, and I bury my face into his chest, sobs wracking my throat as my stomach turns unpleasantly.

It feels like we fall for one thousand years before we finally land, but I don't dare open my eyes until Lord Hades commands me to.

"It is fine now," he says plucking my fingers from his clothes. "Stop crying and open your eyes."

I blink, finding myself in a large hall with walls of cut glass that glitter in the pale moon light of the torches. The place is dark and immense overall, but full of wealth and splendor, even more rich than the halls of Great Olympus. The thick pillars are carved with the stories of the beginning of man and gods alike, inlaid with gold, and gemstones, and slightly spinning on an axis.

Watching them move makes my head hurt so I look away quickly.

Gray skinned men come forth when Lord Hades takes off his riding gloves. He hands them to one of the ashen faced attendants before coming back to me placing his hands on my waist to lift me from the chariot. I stare at him stupidly as he places me on my feet and then he goes back to the creatures, speaking to them about… something… but I can't focus I am so shocked.

"Have I done something?" I ask after finding my voice. He glances at me, his purple eyes dancing over my face. "Have I offended you in some way?"

"No," he says simply as I cross my arms, the cold of the place making my skin prickle. "The sun can not reach this realm," he explains as he watches me look around the room with my teeth chattering. He takes off his cloak and throws it around my shoulders. The black bulk looks so large on my frame and it weighs me down. "You will get used to the chill in time."

"In time?" I whisper softly, getting stuck on those words and wanting him to explain... but instead he snaps his fingers and a nymph comes running.

She is not a nymph of the earth... I can tell just by the haunted look she has with her skin so white she looks like she hasn't seen the sun in a thousand years. She's wearing black silk draped over her body with her right shoulder exposed and a crown of black roses. On closer inspection, I see that they are not living flowers… It looks like they're made out of metal...

"Take Persephone to her chambers and ready her for the feast," he says, shaking dirt from his hair.

"Feast?" I squeak out and he looks at me with a brow raised.

"Yes," he nods shortly as the nymph smiles at me over his shoulder. She is quite pretty even though there is something greasy about her. "Our wedding feast."

"Wedding?" I whisper, the shock making my voice high pitched.

He doesn't even bother to look at me.

"My brother has offered me one of his lovely daughters for a wife," he says as the color drains from my face, the dread pooling in my stomach like a stone. "I think it is obvious that I have chosen you."

"Wife?" I sound so stupid and confused, but he just carries on like it was nothing.

"My realm has been too long without a Queen," he says flatly. "Too long I have been without a wife to warm my bed. I have selected you to fill that role with the blessing of my dear brother who offered you up quite readily to my affections..." he trails off for a moment, blinking hard before looking at me with purple eyes shining. "Will you go against the word of your Great Father?"

I hesitate before shaking my head. Father has a wicked temper… I have heard the stories of his wrath and I fear it falling down on me. Even my beloved mother could not save me from that.

"Will you go against the wishes of your Lord Hades?"

I shake my head again, completely lost as to what I'm supposed to do.

"Then I believe you'll find this arrangement quite agreeable."

I hesitate a second, my ears burning.

"I don't understand," I whisper, my lower lip quivering pathetically.

"I think I have been fairly clear with my intentions," he says with a dark brow raised. "It wouldn't be so bad to have a husband," he repeats my words with the threat of a smile curling the corner of his lips. "And tonight you will have one."

I didn't expect those words to pull such a punch, and I place a hand on my heart when I feel my chest constrict painfully.

"But... but my mother..."

He starts walking away.

"I have to talk to my mother!" I shout when I realize he means to dismiss me. The gray skinned creatures and the greasy nymph all jump and cower at my voice. "She will be so worried..."

He stops and tilts his head, looking slightly over his shoulder to see me.

"Demeter can demand nothing of you ever again," he says, his voice bitter and chilling. "Her flowered feet can not walk in the dead earth." He stops for a moment and turns to talk to me in all his majesty. "You are a girl no longer, Persephone. The time for crying and wailing for your mother is long past. She holds no sway over you here... but if you must cry, do it now, for I will not tolerate it again. A husband's word will beat a mother's love every time... and you will do well to remember that."

He faces forward again and inhales deeply, a rise and fall of his strong shoulders.

"The world will know of your fate soon enough," he says darkly. "A wife of mine must be shrewd and loyal only to her King."

He lets that sink in before continuing.

"I am giving you a great honor," he admits, his voice deep and without warmth as his attendants and that greasy nymph watch our exchange with greedy eyes. "I will do something none of your handsome brothers with their smiles and flattery can," he says, pausing for a moment before walking forward. "I will make a queen out of you."

I will make a queen out of you...

With that he leaves through an arch at the the end of the hall and I stare after him helplessly, shaking awake only when the nymph takes my hand gently.

"Come," she smiles. She has a sweet face… a welcoming smile despite the circumstances. "Let me show you your chambers. You will like them. I know you will."

I let her pull me through an arch that springs up before us and I walk into a finely crafted room of white…

"This will be where you receive guests…" she says, her voice a sweet sigh as she spins around to show me the wonder of the room that holds plush couches lined with pearls and beaded pillows. The arch disappears behind us with a pop and I turn quickly to see the blank wall. "Or…" Her smiles falters for a moment as I look at the carvings on the walls…. carvings of trees, and birds, and woodland creatures.. "Or just your Lord Husband. I am afraid not many can come into this land from where you come from."

She smiles brightly again before showing me an archway hidden behind a white curtain.

"This is your bed chamber," she whispers in excitement as I step into the room that is much darker and more sensual than the prior. "Lord Hades had it crafted and designed by great Hephaestus himself for your arrival. Look!" She pulls me over to the bed… a great, glorious thing with the frame and headboard made out of copper. "Isn't it lovely?" she sighs, running her fingers over the designs cut into the metal. "Lord Hades said you had hair like copper… much brighter than even beautiful Mother Demeter and he was right!"

She laughs as she takes my hand, pulling me to the other gorgeous furnishings in the room. Lamps hang down from the ceiling, blazing in a golden god's flame that sets the dark room in a warm glow. The ceiling swirls like the night time sky with stars blazing in the distance, but I know it must be fake.. it has to be…

"How fine is it that you are here at last! Does this please you?" She presses. "Do you like it?"

I can not answer as I look around me, taking it all in with a hand on my neck. The walls are a vibrant blue-green that can take on either color when viewed from different points in the room and they shimmer slightly like the stones in the deepest caves do when exposed to light. A fountain rests in the wall, a copper lions head with his mouth spouting out clear water into a basin that drains down to… I don't even know where...

There are carved tables that hold an array of womanly gifts, chairs covered in fur and leather, and a large hearth with a fire burning in an intense purple flame.

"And look here," she calls, motioning to another archway that leads into a small alcove which holds a number of fine clothes."Aren't they beautiful? Just feel…" she takes my hand and forces me to feel one of dresses with her eyes sparkling in pleasure. "Isn't it wonderful? Oh, but wait! There is more."

She runs back into the bedchamber as I dance my fingers along the dresses… wondering how long they had been waiting here for me…

"Look at this!"

I turn to find her holding a wooden box and she comes gliding over to me with a grin on her face.

"Open it. Look and see!"

I hesitate before doing as she says, popping open the lid with nervous fingers to find a crown inside.

"Lord Hades had Hephaestus make this for you too," she whispers in pleasure as I lift the delicate piece from the soft pillow.

It's made of tarnished silver just as I remember his had been… with the emeralds and amethyst woven throughout the leaves of metal and onyx… only this crown was more feminine… more delicate… more fitting for a woman...

I push the crown back on the pillow and snap the lid closed. Much to the surprise of the nymph who jumps back. She seems confused by the emotions that cross over my face and she frowns for a moment.

"What is that door?" I ask, nodding to the large thing on the far side of the room. It has a rather large sliding lock towards the middle and it's made of steel and painted black wood.

"That is the door that leads to your Lord Husband's room," she explains softly as my heart starts hammering. "I could show you what it looks like now, if you'd like. I am sure Lord Hades would not mind the intrusion. I imagine you will know it well soon enough…" She trails off when she sees me sit down heavily on one of the chairs and she tilts her head curiously. "Are you alright?"

"Does he really mean to make me his wife?" I ask softly, staring at the ground for fear that if I look up, the world will come crashing down on me and I will start to cry.

"Of course," she says simply. "And isn't that a fine thing?"

I can not answer and I shrug off his cloak, not liking how it feels against my skin.

"Can you help me?" I ask, looking up at her and hoping to get her on my side. "I must see my mother. She would not condone this match… I know she wouldn't…"

"But… How could I help you?" she seems puzzled and she tilts her head to the side. "You are the consort of my king now. And he is a fine king, indeed. You will like it here. I know you will."

She comes and kneels in front of me, putting her head on my lap. I'm uncomfortable by her familiarity and I lift my hands as not to touch her as she sighs loudly.

"We have wanted a queen for so long," she says as her fingers play with end of my chiton. She smells nice… I do not know the fragrance but it is sweet and clean at the same time. "Lord Hades was wise to choose you for a wife. I can see it. I know…You will be a kind host… a fair judge… a merciful Queen to balance our King's serious manner." She pops her head and looks at me with her black eyes twinkling. "This kingdom has needed a woman's gentle touch for too long and you are luckier than most. Lord Hades will be a pleasing husband to you. I just know it. You will love him. I know you will. I can see it."

"How do you know anything?" I ask, feeling irritated by her constant assurance.

She grabs my hands. "I know what an honor… what a gift it is to be beloved of our good King Hades. I know that you will be second only to Mother Hera in the pantheon…Second only to the Great mother in importance. He will give you power, and grace, and respect unlike anything you could ever know. In all the lands that ever were or could be… our land is the greatest by far. All mortals will know Hades soon enough and this gift he is giving to you. How wonderful is that?" she laughs. "How pleasing?"

"This… This isn't right." I shake my head and pull my hand from hers. "This should not have happened. My mother…"

"What of your mother?" she asks, tilting her head again and seeming curious that I keep bringing it up.

"She… She…" I fumble with my answer, unsure of what I want to say. "She would not like this."

"Do you like this?" she questions. "Mother's should not be part of a marriage," she says, a serious pout on her face. "How horrifying would it be if all girls found their mothers in their wedding beds?"

She shudders to think on it before turning her eyes back at me.

"I know that you think him handsome…"

"How do you know that?" I hiss, my cheeks reddening.

It makes her laugh.

"Because he is handsome!" she shouts as she jumps up. "And you are lucky to find yourself with such a good looking host. I dare say Lord Hades is the finest man I have ever seen. Above and below… he has such a fine form. Do you not agree, My Queen? Does his form not please you?"

She blinks at me when I do not answer.

"Father Zeus condoned this match, so we know it must be wise," she says as I think of my Father, with his auburn hair and broad shoulders… and how his eyes narrow dangerously when he is angry. "I would not want to go against his wishes… let alone the wishes of our Dear King…Surely your mother must condone this match if both of her brothers do?"

I think on that for a moment, my thoughts troubled and my brow furrowed as she moves about the room. Was this another punishment of my serious mother? To show me what my foolish words could reap? But no… Mother would never do this me… I did this to myself...

She was right… She is always right...and now I have to live with the consequences of my foolish actions.

"We must ready you for the feast now. Make you pleasing for our Great Lord. He very much likes pretty things, you know," she says as she goes over to the water fountain and collects one of the red cloths from edge. When she comes back, she starts washing my body of the dirt that settled after the chariot burst forth from the ground. "And you are so very pretty, indeed."

"What is your name?" ask softly, unable to move as she runs the cloth over my arms and face…

"My name is Minthe," she grins broadly. "Lord Hades has made me your personal attendant. A great honor it is, of course. To serve such a lovely and noble queen." She starts singing a song as she cleans me and once she finds my appearance acceptable, she flounces off to the room of clothes. "You must wear black to match our King," she sighs loudly as she pulls a fine chiton from it's place. "Just this once, I am sure. You are so colorful I would dearly love to see you in yellow."

She places the dress on the bed and urges me to change.

Once I do, she helps fasten the jewel clips at my shoulders as she hums a song to herself. It's the long dress of a woman and it brushes the floor, the smooth fabric draped around my body in a pleasing way that makes Minthe clap her hands in happiness.

"Now, your hair," she sits me down and starts twisting and curling, gathering my wavy hair with clips and combs until it's up in an elaborate chignon. "So lovely," she says as she uses her fingers to make curls at my temple… before taking out the crown from the wooden box.

"I don't want to wear that," I say meekly.

"The crown is heavy on any head," she replies, putting it on my hair anyways. "But it looks so very nice on you."

Once she secures it in place, she stands me up and pats my arms.

"The time is drawing near," she smiles. "We must go down to court so our realm can receive you properly. Lord Hades will be so pleased," she says, her voice is so impossibly cheery. "I know he will. I just know it."

She starts to walk me from the chamber, a great archway opening in the white room to let us leave... but I hold firm and she looks at me curiously when she finds I am not willing to follow.

"May I have a moment to myself?" I ask softly and she tilts her head. "Just a moment."

"Just a moment," she repeats before smiling and then nodding her head. "Of course you need a few seconds to let it all soak in. I will come back."

She leaves then and the arch goes with her… I hesitate one moment before deciding that I will not be a victim to this fate.

If I am to have a husband, it will be of my own choosing. It will be a union of love... not what ever this is…

I am strong… I am smart… I am important… and I am brave….

I go towards the white wall and run my hands over the carvings before an archway appears. I jump back in surprise and then tilt my head when I see the land it leads to... A dirt path curls into a world of black, white, and shades of gray. It looks like a dull version of the mortal world and I step inside… shivering at the chill in the air.

The world is flat and barren… but there is a stream nearby where I find a woman washing her clothes in the gray water… knowing she is not alive, I do not fear her death by my face… but I do not want to frighten her either.

"Excuse me," I say to get her attention, but she doesn't look up. Her ashen face is turned to the water as she scrubs her clothes against a stone. "Hello?"

I go over to her and grab her arm to get her to pay attention to me, but when she tilts her face up I gasp because she has no eyes… They are just hollowed pits of darkness and I go stumbling back with a hand over my mouth.

"What is this place?" I ask out loud as I move away from the woman and back to the dirt path.

All life and color has been sucked out of here so long ago as a strange sun watches down from it's place in the ashen sky... The further I walk, the more eyeless souls I see and none of them can help me find a way out because they are more prisoners than I am in these depressing fields of no consequence.

A man tries to fix his wagon on the side of the road….His gray skin beaded with sweat and his lips curled in a snarl… A crying older woman is attempting to breastfeed a baby… that is no baby at all… just a swaddling of clothes and stones...Two young men are working at a forge… making swords that will never be used and laboring over a black fire that burns cold…A young woman is fetching water from a well… over and over and over again…

I nearly cry in relief when I see an arch appear in the distance.

I run towards it, more than pleased to leave the depressing world of black and white for the burning hottness of the red sunned world. The air is muggy and humid… it makes me sweat and I play when the straps of my dress when I find the material too thick for comfort. This place has black grass and white barked trees with black leaves that roam into the distance. I know the wilderness well and I jog into the forest, looking around for an escape with my eyes squinted against the blood red sky.

I stop when I hear a woman's loud pitched scream.

It's an awful scream of pain and torment….and I start running again, faster and further into the woods to escape it.

The scream doesn't cease and it seems to follow me through the trees. In fact, more come to join the chorus of horror and I stop again when I feel something wet on my face. I bring my hand up to see and pull back to rub the liquid between my fingers. It is dark and I can't tell what it is in the red light… but it causes me to look up…. Where I find the bodies of mortal souls hanging from thick branches. They sway back and forth with ropes tied around their necks, their hands and legs twitching uncontrollably.

I want to scream at the sight, but I cover my mouth to stifle such in action in fear of awaking the beasts the live here. This must be the fields of punishment. Yes, I remember that from my lessons…and I know I do not want to be here any longer.

I watch the dangling bodies in their struggle as I walk as fast as I dare away from their plight. When I get far enough away, I get down on my knees and press my ear to the earth, hoping to hear Mother Gaia and heed her advice if she chooses to sing to me…. but I do not hear the Mother's all nourishing voice.. Instead I hear a different one all together and I widen my eyes when I hear the chilling song of Erebus.

He sings of night, and terror, and perfect darkness. He sings the love song of Chaos…

I panic and stand up, going to make a run for it again… but a hand bursts forth from the dead earth and grabs my ankle before I can.

I scream out loud and try to move away as the ground turns into mud underneath me.

"No," I say when another hand comes to join the first, pulling me down into the ground.

I fall on my elbows, clawing at the black grass as the strong hands try to bring me into the consuming earth of darkness.

"Help!" a man yells as I try to claw my way out of his embrace. I turn around at the voice and gasp when I see a man coming from the mud, both of his large hands are tightly wrapped around my ankle. He is thin with a heavy beard covered in maggots that wiggle in and out of his hallowed eyes. "Help me!"

"Get off!" I shout, trying to kick him with my free leg... but another hand bursts from the mud, grabbing the offending foot.

This one is a woman, her face scarred and her breasts mutilated.

"Help!" she calls, her hallowed eyes looking right into mine as she pulls herself from the mud. "I will do anything you want… whatever you want…" she pleads as as she starts crawling up my body. "Help me!"

"Stop!" I scream as they start pulling me deeper and deeper into the dead earth until I'm up to my shoulders in the mud… "Let me go!"

They nearly pull me under, but strong hands grip me by the arms and pull me to my feet. I blink up at Lord Hades, his face looking wicked in the red light as he glares down at me.

"Let us pretend you got lost on the way to the Great Hall," he says, his voice deep and chilling as the souls cower away from his awfulness. They slink back underground and the earth becomes solid on top of them once more "Let us pretend you did not do something so foolish as to try to leave. Let us pretend all this and forget this moment ever happened."

I am too afraid… shaking too hard... and I just stare up at him for a few moments before swallowing hard.

"I want to go home," I say as bravely as I dare, my voice not sounding like my own. "I don't belong here. I don't belong in the dead earth and I don't want to pretend anything. You can not want me for a wife. You can not, Lord Hades. You do not know me. I am silly, and I am stupid, and I do not belong in this awful place."

"This is where you belong now. You have always belonged here," he says as another scream pierces the air. He grips my upper arm when I turn to look for the voice, but his violence pulls me back to him. "You can not fight your fate. It is a song written before you were born and I am not some boy who can be swayed by tears and pleas. You will be my wife and I will be your husband whether you like it or not. Your mother tried to hide you from the world, but I will give an entire new one to call your own. Can't you see how great that could be? Can you not see how this match is worthy of you?"

"I..." I trail off, not knowing what to say and he steps back, straightening his spine and standing tall over me. "I just want to see my mother…"

I look at the earth where the souls had tried to pull me under, my eyes blurry with more frightened tears.

"I don't like it here," I admit softly as I cross my arms.

"No one likes it here, but just like the souls doomed to this fate, no one can leave this realm without my permission. Do you believe I would grant it to you?"

When I don't answer, he grabs my chin and tilts my face towards his, surveying my expression.

"I thought not," he says flatly, letting my chin drop. "We will be bonded in marriage this night. Do not fight… Do not cry and I will be kind to you. I will show you wonders and give you reverence, but only if you are amenable to my wishes. You will find me equally as obliging in time. I will be a good husband to you, Persephone. I expect the same in kind. Can you accept that?"

He waits for my answer… I don't know what I should do… but I nod anyways just because he is great, and I am small, and one can not go against a Great Father without inviting torment.

He takes my arm and waves his hand. An archway appears before us and he pulls me through it.

"Let this be a lesson," he says once we're back in the front hall of his kingdom, with the green floor and spinning pillars. I look down at my dress, expecting it to be covered in mud… but it is still pristine and clean as when I left my room. "I will not always be there to save you from your folly. My Kingdom is great and never ending….I would hate for you to get stuck in the darkness where even my divine eyes can not find you. You will find many terrible things in this realm… but one thing you will not find is a way out of it."

I swallow hard and he starts walking towards the great doors at the end of the hall… Where I can hear music gently wafting and voices softly laughing.

When he realizes I am not behind him, he gives me a sharp look over his shoulder before holding out his hand.

"Come."

It was a demand and I obey, being too nervous to say otherwise as I place my small hand in his. We walk in silence towards the door and pause just outside. I think of my mother… of her warnings and her lessons and how stupid I have been. This is everything she didn't want for me...Everything she warned me about….

Lord Hades adjusts the cloak thrown over his right shoulder and I glance his way, taking in his profile… his fine nose and long face so perfectly formed as my breath comes out in little gasps of fear.

"Be a gracious host," he says, never once looking at me as he tilts his chin up. "You will receive many gifts this night and you do not want to offend."

"Why are you doing this to me?" I ask in a pathetic whisper and he glances at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Doing what?" he asks, looking at me full on as his purple eyes catch the flame of the pale torches. "Making you relevant?"

I blush at his words, but can not question him further because a moment later the great doors begin to part. They open to a large dinner hall, full of tables and couches and people I have never seen before.

Some of them have the golden glow like me, the same essence of Olympus about their persons as they dance and play among the darkened chamber that is outfitted in a dark forest greens and rich browns like the earth we are under. There are creatures too… blue and black skinned monsters with shining teeth that drink the honey nectar of the gods from golden goblets and silver bowls.

The hall falls silent with our approach and they all stand and bow as we make our way towards the dais… where I see two matching thrones to compliment the crowns on our heads.

My heart is thumping so loudly I am sure they all can hear it and I can't seem to look anywhere but forward as Lord Hades grips my hand tightly in his. Once we reach the thrones, we turn to face his dreadful court and they all stare back with sparkling eyes... the god's flame illuminating each of their terrible faces.

Lord Hades surveys the crowd before sitting down. I follow suit and the halls seems to sigh in relief at his comfort.

A black skinned woman introduces me… She speaks of my titles and my birthright like she has known me for one thousand years as his court watches and whispers. She holds a golden chalice that has the gray oath flame inside of it and a young man steps forward to take it from her.

He is Hymenaios, a beautiful youth draped in wedding wreaths that tell of his tasks in matrimony. Seeing him makes it all so real and I can feel my heart fluttering… skipping beats and nearly stopping altogether as he comes forward.

"Lord Hades…" his voice is pleasing and kind. "Daughter Persephone…"

He sings songs of marriage before offering vows and promises that we must agree to. I feel numb and half dead as he continues with my hands curled into claws at the end of the arm rests. I stare straight ahead, my throat tight and my eyes burning, almost wishing I was pulled into the dead earth in that red sunned world…..

To be faithful… To be fair… To be compliant… To be loyal...To be kind...To be supportive..To be honest...To be loving... To be respectful...

After we each agree to such damning oaths, he tilts the chalice towards my lips so I can drink the flame. One body… One mind… One heart… He chants as the fire curls down my throat and lands in my stomach where it burns my body with the markings that will be there forever after. Lord Hades does the same and then the deed is done. We are both marked with eachothers vows… Forever after husband and wife...Forever his and forever mine… forever together…

Forever is a very long time, indeed…

Hymenaios completes his duty and the hall erupts in cheers. The wedding deity smiles at me, taking the oath flame with him as he disappears from court with a nod to Lord Hades that tells of a deeper secret. Something else happens…A toast, I think. I can not hear the words spoken or the see the things moving...but I finally look up when the hall becomes silent.

"Lord Hades." One of the men of the golden glow comes forward and bows his head respectfully.

He is odd looking…. His face is handsome enough, I suppose… with a prominent nose and a dark head of hair… but his body is thin and sickly... pale and smooth like a boys with only a black sash thrown over his shoulder to cover his nakedness. He has wings of red and black feathers that spring forth from his back and his hands… his hands are darkly painted, like he had dipped his arms in ink to his elbows and didn't bother to wash it off.

"Thanatos," Lord Hades' voice is much deeper in comparison. "You honor us with your presence."

"The honor is mine," he replies, bending slightly at the waist. Thanatos is death... Death is a shadow… My mother had told me that so long ago I barely remember the rest of it. "I must congratulate you and your beautiful new wife on such a fine feast," he says, looking at me and smiling. He has bizarre eyes… a pale, cloudy gray that makes me uncomfortable... "The lovely Queen you have ensnared will be in our hearts and minds for all time, My King."

Lord Hades merely bows his head in response.

"I have brought a gift," he says, moving his hand as two greasy underworld nymphs come forward with a large box between them. "To wish you good fortune and many children." He says as he lifts the lid to show us what's inside. "I call it lightbringer," he explains as he pulls out a scepter of sculpted granite and silver.

At the top is a large red stone that looks like a ruby.

He comes forward and places it at my feet.

I look to Lord Hades, unsure of what to do… and he nods to the gift… so I lean forward to pick it up. As soon as I sit straight, the ruby flames to life. I gasp and jump back as a bright red fire blazes at the top, dancing and shimmering unlike anything I've ever seen.

"It will light the darkest nights," Thanatos explains as I stare in awe at the beautiful flame. It is even more pleasing than the God's flame of Olympus… more beautiful and memorizing... "And unveil the truth behind any lie."

"Thank you," I whisper before realizing he probably didn't hear it… so I clear my throat. "It is a wonderful gift," I say, making eye contact with him and finding his pale eyes unnerving. "Thank you, Thanatos."

Thanatos is death… Death is a shadow...

He dismisses himself with another bow of his head before another man steps forward to take his place. I am still admiring lightbringer when he begins speaking and his gentle voice pulls me away from my thoughts as Minthe comes forward to take the gift away.

"I have been long in the land of Hades," he says, his face turned towards the ground in reverence.

He is sweet looking, with a round face and golden curls atop his head. He's wearing all bronze…. a shining tunic and a band around his head that has sculpted wings at his temple. He has the same strange eyes as Thanatos and it hits me all at once who he is and who they are together.

"This has been my home and hearth since my Great Mother Nyx brought me forth."

Hypnos is sleep… My mind remembers his name with the memory of my mother telling me of the Gods down below. The most thrilling release…

"I have brought a gift to welcome you to our realm," he says, looking at me and smiling gently. "On this, your wedding night."

He reaches into his tunic and from the folds he pulls out a small sphere. It shines brightly like a sun that's small enough to hold in one's palm. I blink against the light as he walks towards me, looking to Lord Hades for permission to come near before placing the blinding sphere inside my waiting hands.

"It is called The Beautiful Death."

"Why is it called that?" I question, finding it cold in my hands but hot to look at.

"It will bring a death like sleep to those mortals you wish to punish," he explains as I roll the smooth ball around my palms. "Their souls would not know release and they will become prisoners in their own flesh for the rest of eternity. Not even my brother could unlock that door."

"Why would I ever want to do a thing like that?" I wonder out loud before I remember to be gracious and I smile at Hypnos. "I appreciate the gift," I tell him, smiling again as Minthe comes forth to relieve me of the weapon. "You have my thanks."

He smiles kindly in reply… He has the smile of a boy and it warms my heart….but only for a moment before I realize where I am and what this is.

Three women come next and I slink back in my chair because I know exactly who the dreaded creatures are.

The Erinyes.

Megaera, the jealous one, stands at the center. Her skin is a deep, midnight blue and her eyes red garnet… She is wearing nothing… standing before us completely naked with her hands smeared in blood, she stretches out her leathery wings before bowing gracefully. Black hair falls over her shoulders and she lifts her face towards mine, smiling gently in an unnerving way.

"My Queen," she says, her voice is a deep, frightening chill. "It will be a great honor to serve you in your judgments which I am sure will be just and fair."

I nod my head, but can not find my voice.

"My gift is my word," she says, balling her hand into a fist and placing it over her heart to make an oath. "From this night, until the world slips back into Chaos, I vow to always serve and protect our new Dreaded Queen Persephone, procured for us by Great Lord Hades in his all knowing wisdom. I will be your blade, your shield, and your retribution. This is say…" she bows her head. "This I promise."

Alecto of the unstoppable anger steps forward next before I can even think of what to say. She has the garnet eyes of her sister, but her skin is pale blue with her short chiton dipped in the red blood of the living. She balls her right hand into a fist, placing it over her chest and bowing her head in my direction as I grip the sides of the throne so tightly my fingers start to ache.

"My gift is my word," she repeats her sister's oath, only her voice is softer… but still far too deep for the face she has. "From this day until the last days, I vow to be your eyes and ears in the kingdom of the shades as well as the halls of mortals. No secrets shall be kept and no deceit shall be allowed. Great Lord Hades in all his splendor has delivered you to us and I know you will be a fitting leader of our realm. I shall be the whisper in your ear, the shadow in the bushes, and the revealer of duplicity. This I say. This I promise."

"Thanks," I squeak stupidity and she smiles softly before falling back.

Then the third and final woman steps forward.

Tisiphone is not blue skinned like her sisters. She is as pale as the moon… but areas of flesh are charred to a crisp like she had been burned by an horrific fire. Black patches litter her skin, showing bone and blood and she has twisted horns that curl from her head like a rams. Her red eyes blaze brightly against her shadowed lids and she walks forward in confidence with the threat of violence simmering just under her surface.

"This I say." Her voice rattles darkly and it frightens me, so I press even further back into the throne as she lifts her arm to place her fist over her heart. "This I promise. I will hurt those who set out to hurt you with the burning fire of vengeance. You will never walk alone in the Kingdom of Hades and your pain will be mine until Chaos comes to swallow the world."

I know I should thank them all, but my throat is too tight to get out anything else, so I nod my head until they fold back into the crowd. More nymphs and godlings come forth, bringing with them presents of wealth and beauty. Jewelry, and gowns, and treasures of the dead earth are laid at my feet as Lord Hades watches it all with his head slightly tilted.

"Nothing can grow in our dead earth. Not anything you will recognize, My Queen," Minthe smiles when it's her turn as she holds a potted plant in her hands. "My gift is a fresh flower of the world of men," she says, handing me the gift.

It is an Iris. A beautiful purple flower that reminds me of my mother and her twinkling eyes….I study the gift, musing over it's beauty when she starts saying something else, but my tears come swiftly when I realize I shall never see another flower ever again.

Minthe takes my emotion as tears of gratitude and I don't dare look to my right for fear of Hades seeing through the lie and becoming angry with me for my sadness. I keep the plant on my lap, listening to it's song as the hall falls into itself with laughter and good cheer.

"We will retire soon," Lord Hades says and I look to him surprise. His eyes are narrowed and staring far ahead. "But first I will present my gift," he says, standing up and gathering the attention of his court.

They fall silent again and he lifts his hand, motioning to his gray skinned attendants to fetch something from the darkness. Minthe removes the plant from my lap as they come forward with a large object draped in silk.

Lord Hades motions for me to stand up.

I do as he wants and when I get close enough, his hand runs up my back in an affectionate way that surprises me. I glance at him with an odd feeling in my stomach, but he doesn't acknowledge me as he nods to the gift. I walk down the dais, aware of the eyes on me as I lift my hand and pull the drapery from the present to reveal a mirror set into a gilded frame of twisted leaves.

"It's a God's window," Lord Hades explains as he walks behind me.

I can see his reflection in the mirror… just as I see mine. With our black clothes and matching crowns… we look quite complimentary to one another and it surprises me how mature I look next to him…. and it surprises me the feeling that pulses between my thighs at the thought...

"An important gift if used correctly," he says as he brings his hand up to touch the rippling surface. "You can spy on the world of men," he says explains, his left hand dancing up my spine once more… It makes me shiver as the mirror changes to show us mortals swimming in a creek. "A amusement I find women enjoy."

"Thank you," I whisper, swallowing hard and backing away when the ashen faced servants cover the mirror. "I have nothing to give," I admit in a whisper, not knowing if it is bad that I do not have something to present.

"Don't you?" Lord Hades replies suggestively and someone giggles.

I turn my head sharply to find Minthe covering her mouth.

He goes back to his chair… I follow… and then the hall goes back to the celebration with the music playing loudly to cover my thoughts. A nymph hands me a goblet of nectar and I smile tightly, taking it from her and downing it all in one swallow.

"Do not drink too much," Lord Hades scolds as I ask for more, my face getting red and my body feeling impossibly warm. "I do not want you inebriated."

I have only had enough nectar to keep me hydrated in the way all those of golden glow need to be replenished… but not enough to lose my senses as some deities have. How great would it be to be drunk like a mortal on this night?

I swallow the second helping down and then a third before Lord Hades snaps his fingers to have the goblet taken away from me.

As the night carries on, I ask for the living plant given to me by Minthe and I hold it on my lap, playing with it's petals and letting my fingers trace over the stem to calm my nerves. Something is burning inside of me and I'm feeling a little light headed by it.

The feast seems to last for days before Lord Hades stands and offers his hand.

I take it and feel a shock at the contact, making me gasp out loud at the sensation. I try to hide my feelings.. not understanding them as I allow him to pull me to my feet. The hall bows and parts as we make our way down the dais and I see a few salacious smiles that make me uncomfortable…It's like they all know what is to come next and they were perversely pleased about my misfortune.

I'm still holding the stupid plant when we leave the Great Hall and my stomach ties in knots as every awful story my mother ever graced me with fills my mind and poisons my courage…This is it. I will be forced, and left, and savaged just as she had warned. Men are awful, selfish creatures. Even the golden blooded gods of Olympus are not free from that curse… and Lord Hades is a Great Father. The type of man I could never go against even if I tried… He's too old, too strong, and too important to deny. And what am I? I am a doe.. a sheep.. a lamb for the slaughter.

I'm breathless… so breathless... by the time we get to my bedchamber and my entire body feels like it's on fire.

I watch Lord Hades as he sits down in the chair by the hearth, the purple flames dancing over his long face in a wicked way.

"Put that down," he says, nodding to the plant as he places his crown on the table.

I obey… but now I have nothing to do with my hands so I clasp them together behind me as I try to figure out the stony expression on his face. He watches me watching him and then his purple eyes slip down my body, taking in each line and curve until I find myself crossing my arms over my breasts uncomfortably.

"Are you warm?" he asks as he shakes a hand through his hair and I nod my head, my eyes feeling heavy. "It's the oath flame inside of you," he admits. "It's burning it's way through your body and marking you forever after."

"Are you hot too?" I ask, bringing a hand up to scratch my neck when I feel the flame in my throat.

"Yes," he answers, sitting back with his eyes shining against the purple fire. "There is only one way to stop it."

I give him a questioning look and his purple eyes darken.

"Take off your dress."

"I'm sorry?" I whisper.

"I want to see what you look like," he explains. "It is a husband's right."

"What of my rights?" I ask softly and he lifts a brow.

"If you want me to disrobe, I will," he says confidently as he stands up and starts lifting the cloak over his shoulder.

"No," I say quickly, a blush creeping up my neck at the thought. "No, I don't want that."

"No?" he blinks at me and then sits back down. "Then what more do you have to object to?"

"But I…" I trail off when his eyes snap to mine and he tilts his head. "I don't want to."

"Don't you?" he asks. "What do you think marriage is, Persephone?"

I resist shrugging my shoulders, and he narrows his eyes at my silence.

"Your mother has spoiled you if you think you have enough sway to say no on a night like this. I will not be cruel to you, but I am not a weak willed man either and I know what must be done. My expectations will not be unfair, but I would be foolish not to have them."

When I don't reply, he raises an eyebrow.

"If I cut you open right now there would be words seared into your insides of the promises you made this night… the promises you made to me. It will only get worse and it will not stop burning until we've consummated this marriage. One flesh," he says the words of marriage. "One heart. One mind…Now," he pauses, tilting his head and running a hand down his jaw. "Remove your clothes or I will do it for you."

I'm sweating now… and so is he, his cheeks red and his eyes glowing as I inhale another deep breath.

I am strong… I am beautiful… I am brave…

I will not cower for him.

Even if this is something I must do, my body is my own and I will not let him intimidate me. I hesitate before bringing a shaking hand up the crown as I think of lovely Aphrodite. A woman's strength is the hold her sex has over men… she said that once. Was it true? In the bedroom, a woman holds the power…

"No," he says sharply and I blink in surprise, my face getting hot when I see his eyes flash dangerously. "No," he says a little more softly when he realizes his tone scared me. "Leave that on."

I nod my head and swallow hard before turning around. He is my husband now and I am his wife… The words are burned inside the both of us and I am not the first woman to find herself with a complete stranger on her wedding night. I am not the first woman to have this fear and I will not be the last.

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to sort my thoughts as a strange feeling shivers through my body and wets my thighs. I am not so naive to be ignorant of my own lust… but it's not organic...not completely my own…. and my mind fights against it….but with the burning… with the lust… comes the pain and I undo the clasps at my shoulders quickly when it starts to pick at my skin in warning. I let the dress fall to my waist, exposing my back to his heated gaze as I suck in a heavy breath.

The air is cold against my breasts and it makes my skin prickle unpleasantly as I try to build my courage to go the rest of the way. My hands shake and my body aches to be touched… but I swallow it down and try to hold myself together. I am not alone. A thousand women before me and thousand women after have had and will know this feeling.

I am not alone.

My husband is patient behind me, waiting through my hesitation before I let the dress drop and pool at my feet.

"Turn around," he whispers.

I will not cower for him.

I go as slowly as I dare, lifting my arms to cross over my breasts as I turn towards him… The purple fire of the hearth illuminates the right side of his face as he leans slightly forward and it makes him look like a sinister beast full of desire.

"Lower your hands," he says, his eyes dancing over my face and then the rest of me as he curls his hand against his thigh.

I will be brave… and I stare right at him as I lower my arms. I clench my jaw and refuse to back down as I straighten my shoulders, standing as tall and proudly as I can. I am brave… I am beautiful… and I am the daughter of a Great Mother and the Almighty Father… I will not let him see my fear.

He smiles a little before standing up.

I don't move as he walks towards me. My mother's voice is telling me to run away, but I stay stone still as he brings his hand up to skip his fingers over the the curve of my hip, the dip of my waist, the underside my breasts. My stomach flutters and I lick my lips nervously as I stare at his throat...and what a fine throat it is...

"How pleasing you are," he says gently before leaning down and placing a sweet kiss against my cheek.

His facial hair scratches my skin and I crinkle my nose.

"How perfect…" His lips move to my neck with his hand gently gripping my waist. His fingers are shaking… giving away more than his words ever could.

He backs up for a moment, his dark eyes watching me closely before he starts taking off his clothes. I can do nothing but stare, sucking my lower lip between my teeth and tilting my head as he moves his cloak over his head. His tunic is embroidered with a swirling pattern of the heavens and the silver thread shines in the firelight as he removes the rest… letting it fall behind him until he stands in front of me in all his glory.

I swallow hard and stare at the power between his legs.

I have never seen one so close before and a red hot blush masks my face as I imagine how it would feel inside of me. It is a ridiculous thought… An awful one… but I can't help but have it as I rub my thighs together uncomfortably. I just never realized how empty I was before and I can't stop looking at it. He clears his throat to get my attention and my eyes snap to his in embarrassment… catching a flash of a smile cross his face at my curiosity.

Lord Hades wears his nakedness like armor and he has every right to be proud… he is so powerfully built in all his divinity. Tall and lean, with hair, and muscles, and scars… So many scars…. I reach out to touch an angry red one on his chest, my hands shaking nervously.

My mother has scars too. They came from the violence of the war in the before…. When their father's teeth tore into their infant flesh and they had to be sewn back together again…

"Here…" he whispers as he reaches forward, placing his large hand on my stomach and moving it down between my legs, his fingers curling along my sex.

I inhale sharply, closing my eyes and clenching my fist as my body explodes with his touch. His fingers work gently and it inflames the desire in my heart, building it into a blazing inferno of insatiable lust. I open dazed eyes to find him staring down… his purple gaze searching my expression like he was trying to find something in me he could identify as his equal. But didn't he know? Couldn't he see that I was ridiculous?

"Lord Hades," I whisper breathlessly.

He smiles.

A sudden and awful madness grips me and I grab the back of his head, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. I am sloppy in my inexperience, but Lord Hades is burning just as hot and he removes his fingers, deepening the kiss with his head tilted and his hands everywhere at once. He tastes like honey and he smells like the sunkissed earth…. it's an attractive combination and it spurs my desire further, turning me over to my primal instincts where real thought or consequence hardly matters at all.

He pushes me up against the wall and I grip his shoulders, my crown coming loose and going crooked as he presses open mouthed kisses down my neck and shoulder.

I always imagined my first foray into lovemaking would be sweet and gentle with declarations of love and seduction...not this lascivious frenzy of bites, and licks, and pulls, and pushes…but I can't stop and it could be no other way. Not when there was something scratching on the inside of my chest and it would not be sated until I had all of him at once.

I dig my nails into his skin when he lifts me up and I even smile before kissing him deeply so I can taste him...My entire body feels like it's throbbing and I'm on edge of something wonderful and dark… but when he angles his sex against mine, something ripples through me and I end up screaming when he buries himself inside with one fierce thrust.

The pain brings me back to my senses, but he is still too far gone to notice my distress and I clench my teeth together in shock as his body tears into mine.

It went from such wonderful bliss to such terrible torment…. How can sex feel so awful when everyone sings it's praises?

I try to ride it out… I try to understand how people can say it feels so good when it's feeling so awful... But he's going too hard and I can't breathe anymore. I start crying in little sobs and my new husband pulls back in confusion to see my face.

"What is it?" he asks sharply.

I don't answer. I can't... and he stops his assault, his eyes clearing as he looks down between our bodies. He slips out of me and seems surprised to see my maiden blood on his member.

"You are still intact," he says, blinking away his lust as he sets me on my feet. I want to fall to the ground and cry, but I force myself to keep standing and I cover my mouth to stifle more sobs. "I thought you had others before me."

Why would he even think that?

"I didn't think it would feel that bad," I admit, my throat scratchy. "Will it always feel that bad?" I ask, blinking up at him and feeling impossibly small.

He tilts his chin down suspiciously as he tries to read my face before he backs away.

"No," he answers flatly as he grabs a blanket from my bed. He wraps it around my shoulders to cover my shivering nakedness and I stare up at him through blurry tears. "Your body will stretch to accommodate me. Had I known…" He trails off for a moment, inhaling deeply as black hair falls over his brows. "I would not have been so rough if I knew you had not been intimate before. I thought I would be hard pressed to find a true virgin in Zeus' glowing Olympus. Purity declarations seem to be born from the fact certain hosts prefer the company of women than true chaste values against men."

He sounds bitter at the thought and my lower lip trembles for a moment before I try to bite back the emotion.

He walks away from me then, over to the small fountain where he runs his hands under the water. I watch his strong back, staring at the scars that cut through his pale skin like angry red ribbons as he cleans himself of my blood.

"You didn't want to take the vow," he says sharply, his hand propped up against the wall and curled into an angry fist. "And you seemed so familiar with Hermes I thought for sure you had known a man's touch."

I'm confused by his anger… confused by my own feeling of worthlessness.

"Does it upset you so?" I whisper, my eyes blurring again when he glances at me over his shoulder.

"No," he answers, turning back to the water. "I am just surprised."

There is a silence as he cleans himself and I wonder if I should too… He gives me no direction, so I walk towards him, trying not to wince with each step until I get by the fountain.

"Are we truly married?" I ask, looking down at it again and wondering how I ever thought it would fit inside. "Has it been written?"

"Yes," he answers curtly, not bothering to look at me as he grabs a cloth to dry himself.

"Will I grow a child now?" I ask, unsure of my question.

He spares me another sharp glare and I blush, feeling stupid for not knowing. I had limited experience with such things… All I had to go on was what I overheard in the company of Aphrodite and my mother's awful stories of rape, and torment, and unwanted children.

"We did not finish," he answers when he realizes I'm not joking. "I planted nothing inside you."

"Oh," I say, nodding my head, letting on that I know much more than I do.

He pauses a moment, watching my profile. "It doesn't happen every time," he explains and I look up to catch his eyes.

"My mother…" I trail off when his eyes narrow dangerously at the mention of her. "It's just..." I mumble off, feeling foolish. "It's just that she had a child each time…"

"She did not," he answers, like what I said was ridiculous.

He even rolls his eyes.

"Oh," I repeat with my brows furrowed… blinking as I think of my mother and all the things she had taught me about fertility and love.

After a few moments of silence, I feel his eyes back on me… so I look up… only to have him promptly turn away.

"You should know that none of my love making has ever resulted in children," he admits, getting his fingers wet again and then running them through his hair, making it stick up in the front. "We may never have any."

I blink at his admission.

"Can you find peace with that?" he asks, glancing at me.

"I think so," I whisper, unsure of my thoughts on the matter because I have never entertained the idea of being someone's mother… but I still feel something heavy on my chest at his words…

"I find most women itch to bear a child of their own. Even divine hosts want to feel a soul growing new inside their bellies. You may never have that," he says seriously. "You should know that now and banish the thought from your mind before it grows into something you can not handle."

"Okay." I nod again because I don't know what else to say. "I understand."

This was not romantic… this was not love… but if I was to be married to this man… to this Great Father I would dare not go against… I could be civil even in my fear…Civility may buy me more than my resistance could. He glances at me when I grab a red cloth from the basin, wetting it with the water before opening the blanket and running it between my legs. I can feel him staring, so I look his way… only to flick my eyes down to his sex.

"Is yours bigger than most?" I ask innocently, trying not to think of the fact that I will never bear a child… never hold a new life in my arms… .

He doesn't answer for a moment... he doesn't even laugh at my naivety…. He seems troubled again, before his expression flattens out into nothing.

"It fits me well enough," he answers after a few moments and a ghost of a smile turns the corner of his mouth before disappearing completely. "In time, it will fit you too," he says, like he wanted to reassure me, but I get stuck on those words and realize this is forever…

Forever and ever…

I catch myself looking between his legs again and I swallow at the thought of doing it enough times for my body to stretch…

"Do different ones fit different females?" I ask, thinking perhaps if that was the case he would let me leave knowing I was too small.

He looks at me in disbelief, trying to find some kind of lie on my face before he turns away.

"You are young," he admits, like he just realized. "And I am old and disenchanted." He sighs… The tired sigh of an old man. "You can lock your door against my affections," he says, nodding to the large black doorway on the other side of the room. "I will permit you that freedom...especially after taking you so violently this first night. I will not force my company upon you when you are in your chambers. Not until you want me," he says seriously. "If I hear the lock change, I will take that as an invitation to your bed. Is that fair?"

"You mean…." I'm still a little confused… "We won't have to.. everynight?"

"No," he says seriously, in that flat way that he has. "Not unless you want to."

"Do you want to?" I ask with my head tilted curiously at this new role I am to assume and how Lord Hades fits into it.

"Does it matter to you what I want?" he asks, just as curiously… but when I don't answer, he smiles a little. "I have waited a long time for a wife…. I can wait longer for a lover," he admits in a low voice. "I will leave you with your thoughts," he says softly. "I am sure you have many of them to sort out."

He turns to leave then.

"Lord Hades," I say quickly when I realize he really means to dismiss himself from my company. He turns around and lifts a questioning eyebrow as I adjust the cover around my naked body. "Will I ever see my mother again?" I ask desperately. "Will I ever see the sun?"

He pauses for a moment, watching my face as the pathetic tears build in my eyes

"Sleep well this night," he says instead of answering as he opens the door to his dark chambers. "You will need it."

The door slams behind him and I hesitate only one moment before running over and sliding the lock into place with a violent jerk. I back up with my hands covering my mouth before melting into a pool of sobs in the center of the room.

The crown falls from my head and rolls along the floor, landing by the bed and making a clicking sound before finally resting.

Fearful that he will return, I dress quickly, picking one of the comfortable chitons from the clothing alcove and slinging it over my head. I sit on the bed with tears still on my cheeks and I stare at the large black door, waiting for it to open...Waiting for him to come and do as men do and as my mother had always warned...but he doesn't….He keeps his promise to stay away... and I am grateful for the solitude.

As the night carries on, I start thinking of my mother… and of my home… and the forest…

I should have taken the vow. I should have listened to my mother and my sister Artemis. I should have aligned myself with Mother Hestia and her white draped maidens... I should have done a lot of things…but now it was time for me to reap what I have sown and I fear it is going to be the most volatile fruit.

"Did I not tell you she was lovely?"

I hear Minthe's voice in my slumber and I try to shake it away.

"See how well formed she is?" she says loudly. "Do you see the freckles on her shoulders… on her nose… Those are from the sun above. They dot her skin in little speckles like the constellations of the heavens."

She giggles… and another voice giggles with her.

I snap my eyes open… finding myself face to face with a dark haired nymph I have never seen before. I scoot back on the bed, my eyes wide in panic as the nymph tilts her head to watch me.

"Oh, what blue eyes she has!" the nymph claps. She has gapped teeth and blood shot eyes. Her hair is braided in two sides down her shoulders and tied in ribbons. "Oh, how wonderful. It's like the sky, isn't it? Minthe, are her eyes not like the clear skies of Father Zeus?"

"Even brighter are her eyes than that!" Minthe answers with a grin. "Our Queen is the daughter of Great Father Zeus and Holy Demeter," she says proudly like I belonged to her and she was showing me off. "Such a fitting reward for a lifetime of loneliness or Dear Lord has endured."

"What are you doing in here?" I ask, clutching the cover and sliding my eyes to the stranger nymph who is watching me with her elbows on my bed. "What do you want?"

"We wanted to let you sleep in," the gapped tooth one grins again. "We thought after your bedding to Great Lord Hades, you would be quite tired!"

They giggle again.

"What was it like?" she asks with a wistful sigh as she leans forward, but Minthe smacks her head and forces her to stand up.

"She would not divulge such secrets to you," Minthe rolls her eyes before tugging the covers I have gripped tightly in my hands. "Come, My Queen. We must ready you."

"For what?" I whisper, dread thick in my throat.

"For your duty," she says matter of fact like I was foolish to even ask. "The line has been backed up for days, you understand. Judgments must be made before the new moon."

"What are you talking about?" I ask as I let them pull me from the bed.

"You must sit in judgment with Lord Hades, of course," Gap tooth says as she sits me down to comb through my hair. "And counsel him on his decisions as a wife should. The souls will beg and plead, but you must not show mercy to those who have been merciless in life. If placed incorrectly, they infect the land like a poison and have to be cut out entirely…"

"I must judge the living?" I ask stupidly, trying to wrap my head around it… but Minthe shakes her head as she comes to show me the shimmering red gown she means for me to wear…

It is beautiful, the fabric smooth and luminescent against the god's flame..

"No," she answers with a smile when she sees me admiring the dress. "You will judge the immortal dead. Eternity is a very long time… a very important task you have been given, indeed."

She helps me remove my clothes and when I'm standing naked before them, the gap tooth nymph tilts her head.

"What a full body you have," she points out as her eyes dance down to my breasts. "Much fuller than mine," she admits as she looks down at her own flat chest with a frown. "So many curves and valleys," she says, making an hourglass motion with her hands as I cross my arms uncomfortably.

"A woman's body," Minthe agrees as she helps me into the underclothes. Her words remind me of Artemis and I ache to see my dear sister once again. What would she think of all this? What would she think of me?

She would think me weak…. and she would be right.

"Wide hips to bear our Great Lord's mighty children." She smiles at me as she drapes the red dress around my body, fastening the golden brooches at my shoulders before her fingers move along the curve of my waist. "Full breasts to nourish our noble King's sons and daughters so they can grow into strong and noble deities."

She smiles at me and I can not smile back. She must not know that Lord Hades can not fill me with children like she wants.

"And a lovely face to please him," Gap tooth adds with her jade eyes sparkling. "What a fine form you have, My Queen."

A silence passes as they ready me and I furrow my brows when I notice the extra fabric attached to my waist that trails behind me in a silken river of red silk.

"Why is it so long?" I ask curiously as Gap Tooth starts to curl my hair up.

"You must make an fine entrance your first time in the Judgement Hall," she answers, her voice a mousy squeak as Minthe comes forth to apply some kind of berry stained lip paint to my mouth. "You will be dreadfully beautiful and fearsome to behold!"

"Why must I be fearsome?"

"The souls of men must quake in your presence, My Queen." Minthe answers as she paints my eyes with a black paste and combs my eyelashes with kohl. "All living things dread to meet Lord Hades…"

She moves to my eyebrows, darkening them with a powder that's shades darker than my hair as the second nymph places golden bracelets on my wrists. She's grinning at me like a crazy person as she slips them into place and I try to avoid looking at her directly because her eyes make me so uneasy.

"Because Lord Hades knows and sees all in his grand divinity. He holds their ever after in the palm of his hand and mortals are right to fear his judgement….Now they shall fear yours too, Dear Queen! They must shake and see your terrible splendor! "

She smiles when she's finished and steps back to appraise me.

"Get the you-know-what," she instructs the other nymph who scurries to grab a jade box from the table. "There is another present from your dear Lord Husband to wear this day," she says as the braided haired nymph kneels in front of me with her knees pressed to the floor. "For a host of the sunkissed earth who finds herself in the darkened halls of the dead," she says, opening the box to show a glittering diadem that has seven spikes of gold. "A head piece fitting for Great Helios himself." Minthe grins as she takes the gift from the velvet lining and then she moves behind me to place it in my hair.

It fits like a headband, resting around my head and tied at the nape of my neck in a large bow of golden ribbons…

"Your splendor could rival any of the Great Goddess' above," she whispers as she fingers the curls framing my face. "Lord Hades was right to love you so."

If she only knew that Lord Hades did not love me at all….

"What is expected of me?" I ask, letting her help me to my feet as I slip into jeweled slippers. "How does this all work?"

"Well…" She trails off and smiles with her eyes alight with her knowledge. "First, there are the mortal judges…. The council of three kings," she explains as she takes my arm to lead me from the room as the second nymph gathers the long trail off the dress in her arms. "They screen the newly dead to see if their story is good enough…. or bad enough... to be pushed through to Our Dear Lord. If that is the case, then Lord Hades will see them in the Judgement Hall and look over their life... their crimes and their triumphs... to decide what world they will spend their ever after in. Hermes brings the noble dead straight to Lord Hades…"

"Brother Hermes," I say quickly. I forgot he can come into this realm. I forgot all about him.

"Yes, he is tasked with presenting only the noblest and beloved of the gods to Our Lord to be judged with Elysium or the Blessed Isles." We walk through the archway in my white room, going straight into the front hall with the green floor and spinning pillars. "He is the only god of the sun who can move freely in the dead earth, permitted only by Lord Hades' generous hospitality."

"Where does he come in at?" I ask curiously as we walk towards a large door at the end of the never ending hall.

Minthe pinches her face in a scowl before shaking her head. "It's no matter. Let us hurry. Your Lord Husband awaits."

I stand just outside the door, waiting for the nymphs to adjust the trail of fabric behind me in a way that pleases them. I clasp my hands together and close my eyes for a moment when I find myself nervous. No matter the cause, I am a queen now. A queen of the golden blooded of Olympus. I am my mother's daughter.. I will be brave, and proper, and graceful. I will stay poised and shed the silliness of my youth. I will not embarrass myself… I will not embarrass my husband… I will be serious and noble… and loyal only to my King…

I shake my head to rid it of all my overlapping thoughts and inhale a deep breath when the door creaks open to reveal a very long and narrow hall.

The walls are dark, shimmering blue with words burned into the surface like the decrees of the Great Hall of Olympus. The floor is black, made of swirling cut glass and it seems to shift and move like it was a living thing, slighting breathing like there was a great beast underneath as the pale flamed torches burn nearby. I try not to be distracted by it all and I lift my head as proudly as my weak willed heart will allow.

Most of the nymphs and godlings of the underworld stare down at me from the gallery above. They peak over the railing as I start my approach and I hear their whispers as the dress trails behind me in a crimson river of silken fabric. I stare straight ahead where Lord Hades waits for me on his silver throne, two fingers of his right hand pressed to his temple as he leans back to watch my approach.

My mouth feels dry, and I swallow hard as I walk towards him, looking at the empty chair to his right and realizing it is for me.

Standing on either side of the dais are two winged creatures… Their hair… Their bodies… Their great wings are covered in white clay and they keep their eyes clenched shut. One is a shapely woman with wide hips and small breasts. In her hands she holds an hourglass with red sand that is completely full on the bottom… The other is a muscular man with long hair pulled back in a braid. He's holding a flaming sword engulfed in green flames and between the two is a white post. It burns with the ancient words of the Old tongue with a ball of black fire hovering over the top.

I glance up and catch Thanatos with his swirling gray eyes staring down at me from above. Thanatos is death… my mind whispers…. Death is a shadow... He's perched on top of the railing like a bird and he smiles when I make eye contact. I look away quickly, back to Lord Hades who stands with my approach, moving down the stairs to meet me halfway.

"We have an audience," he says flatly, offering his hand to help me the rest of the way. His touch burns my skin and I try not to blush when I remember the night before. "After all this time, this noble court of mine has finally found themselves troubled enough to watch the judgments of their king," he says seriously, flicking his eyes up to the hosts in the gallery. "What a curiosity a woman in a nice dress is to them," he says spitefully as the godlings shy away from his bitter words. "One would think they did not know what beauty was."

I have nothing to say to that and I let him walk me to my throne. We turn around towards the hall and Minthe adjusts the long end of my dress so it flows down the stairs before we sit.

"We listen," Lord Hades says as I stare up at the gallery, at all the shining eyes that are watching so intently. "We watch. We judge."

"We watch?" I whisper… but the door at the end of the hall opens.

A short and pudgy man walks in. He is a dead mortal, his skin gray and his face ashen with his hands covered in the bright red blood of the living.

"Dorus," The white painted woman with wings speaks. Her voice is an ancient whisper that scares me and the mortal man as she turns over the hour glass… the red sand filtering through to the other side to keep time. "Son of Praxis and Kyra. Born late. Three kingdom triumphs. Second circle pride. Did not believe. Did not revere. Fifteen souls."

I don't understand any of that… but Lord Hades does and he sits forward when she is finished.

"Dorus," Lord Hades greets, his voice deep and full of authority as the mortal falls to his knees in front of us, his eyes wide in fear. "You have a blood guilt on your hands," he says as I lean forward to see the blood that drips onto the shining floor in little puddles.

"It was all a mistake! A great mistake!" The man starts groveling and he goes to move up the dais, but the white creature's spread their large wings to block his way and he falls back in surprise. "Please, Great Lord Unseen!" He goes as low to the ground as his fat belly will allow, his hair is sparse and thinning at the top. "Take pity and know my deeds were to bring favor to you and your God Brothers! Know I meant no offense! Please have mercy on your subject, so noble and great as you are!"

"What did you do?" I ask, surprising the man and my Lord Husband. I blush to feel their stares and I clear my throat, trying to tilt my head up in confidence. "What blood guilt stains your hands?"

The man blinks at me and then Lord Hades.

"Put your right hand in the fire," Lord Hades commands and the man hesitates before moving to the marble post, looking between the white winged creatures nervously. "Let my Queen see your sin."

His palm hits the top of the post at the very heart of the blackened flame and there's a blinding light before the hall goes dark. When the light returns, I find myself standing in a rich home of a mortal that has mosaic floors and stone walls. The dead man comes in, only he is not dead anymore… It is like he was living again and he hums to himself as he lays down on a couch with his clothes purple and expensive. Slaves come forth to feed him, but he pushes them away when a woman is walked into the room…

She is young, barely a woman, but she is heavy with child and clothed in dirty rags.

"Come forth, girl," the dead man says, sitting up and motioning with his fat fingers. "You have come here for help?" he asks.

She has dark eyes and she nods her head meekly.

"What kind of help?" he asks, looking her up and down with food still in his mouth.

"I was told that you help women in my situation," she says, a hand on her swollen belly. "My husband has died and his family has thrown me out."

"And you can not find work?"

"I am a free woman," she says, trying to seem proud as she tilts her head up. "But my family has fallen and can not accept me either. I need help… I will pay back any debt I incur and once I have my child I can find a husband worthy of me and my plight…"

"Right," he smiles and waves his hand. "Give her a room and a warm meal. It is lucky you found us, dear girl. Not many can live on the streets with such a pretty face as yours…"

He says more things, but the memory pulls away and time speeds up to show the fate of the girl and her baby. She is forced to pay for his hospitality with gold and sexual favors and she gives birth in a darkened room by herself. While she is still recovering, he has her moved to the back garden where he buries her alive… The baby… A little boy so perfectly formed… he sells to a brothel.

That is not his only sin… This was a particular cruelty that he committed ten more times. All the mothers were buried still breathing and the children who were born ill-formed or sickly…they ended up in the ground as well.

"What an awful human you are," I say when the hall comes back into focus and I curl my fingers around the end of my throne. "How could you do such an awful thing to so many trusting girls?"

"It was… It was just business," he says as he falls to his knees again. "I gave them home and shelter… and I helped many others! With the money I made, I donated to the poorest of the city… I helped those who had no homes or no food to fill their bellies. I have done great things! I have a family… A wife and children of my own. I have lived a full life and this is only a little part of it. Do not punish me for this slight! I am sorry and I repent!"

"You are not sorry!" I shout because I can feel the lie on his tongue. It washes over me like an unpleasant chill and I hear more whispers from the gallery when they witness my emotion. "And what of the suffering of the women you put in the ground?" I ask sharply, standing up when I find my anger taking me. "Or the children you banished to an awful fate? All because they trusted you. What do you have to say to that?"

"It was… It was…." he stutters through his answer, his eyes wide and fearful. "I was just trying to make a living. Have mercy! Have mercy! I have given money to the temple of great Zeus! I have given sacrifices at the altar of Hera and Great Demeter! I have revered our Rich Lord of the dead! I have done all that was asked of me!"

My mother's name inflames my heart. "How dare you say the names of those much greater and fairer than you."

Lord Hades takes my hand in such a gentle way and I look at him, my eyes narrowed sharply.

"Sit," he says softly and I do as he says, balling my left hand into a fist. "Do you believe he should be punished for his crimes?"

"He has no true remorse," I say, my heart on fire as I glare down at him. "And he had no mercy for the women and children he harmed…"

I look towards Lord Hades to find him thoughtful as he looks over my face.

"What do you think is a fitting punishment?"

The question stops me… and I think of the red sunned world of pain and torment. My anger is hot enough to want that for him, but I do not know if my nature will allow me to say so.

"I don't know," I say, turning back to the dead mortal and narrowing my eyes. "What is usual for a crime like this?"

"They are all different," he admits as the mortal blinks up at us in confusion. "But you are right… He has no remorse… He murdered guests he brought into his home and promised protection. He served them a grisly death and sold their children into slavery. He buried his victims to avoid blood shed, knowing that the gods would come down on him for such an act, but he has the blood guilt on his hands all the same. He should be buried in the dead earth," he says, his voice dark and chilling as he turns back to the man. "You will feel the torment you brought on earth and you will not know peace until your penance is up. Only then will you be transferred to the Fields of Asphodel. A lifetime for each life you took," he says as the words blaze into the walls just like the decrees of Great Olympus.

"Two lifetimes," I cut in and Lord Hades looks at me for a surprised moment before nodding his head.

"Two lifetimes," he corrects as the words are branded into the walls.

The white winged creature to the left lifts his sword and rams it right into the man's heart. I jump and cover my mouth to hide a scream as his eyes disappear, becoming two hollowed holes of nothing as the creature slides the blade from his chest. The mortal yells in pain and claws at his face as he's dragged from the room by two shadows, his dire screams bouncing off the tall walls in such a desperate way.

Once he is gone, I sit back in the throne as my hands shake uncontrollably. The hosts above talk and whisper... until my husband puts his hand on top of mine.

"You must not feel each one so hotly," he says softly as I stare at his profile. "They only get worse."

The next soul to come in was a woman who had poisoned her stepson when she realized he would inherit his father's estate. He was only two years of age... After that was a grandfather who had raped his granddaughter… and then a woman who had set fire to a rivals house, killing the entire family in the process…The sins only get more chilling as time goes on and Lord Hades watches each story calmly with a tilt of his dark haired head before turning to me to ask me of my thoughts with my face red in anger or my eyes blurred with tears.

"They must know that we see them," Lord Hades explains when I told him I could not listen to it anymore… I could not watch their crimes or see their souls being pierced with the blade. "They will answer for what they have done. Their victims must know that someone bears witness to their suffering."

"Reap what you sow," I say the old words and Lord Hades nods his head as a tear slips down my cheek.

"Yes." He surprises me by bringing a hand up and wiping my sadness away. "And we must bring them the harvest."

We sit for days in our judgment until another man comes forward with blood guilt on his hands… He had murdered his young child by smothering her with a pillow and the white winged creature of the male sort gives Lord Hades the clues to his life.

"Pheres," his voice is a frosty sigh. "Son of Enops and Drosis. Born in the setting sun. Ten kingdom triumphs. Delayed. First circle pride. Believed. Did not revere. One soul."

We watch his crime… his awful crime... and Lord Hades starts to give him a punishment…. Five lifetimes in the hanging gardens for the murder of his own flesh… but something troubles me and I put my hand on my Lord Husband's arm before his fate can be sealed.

"Why did you kill her?" I ask, not seeing the motive in the memory but seeing how he cried as he washed the child and put her to bed…. before pressing the pillow to her face. "You loved her."

"He murdered his own blood," Lord Hades says, glancing at me like he thought my question was uncalled for. "That is a great offense."

"I just want to know," I whisper before turning to the man… He is older, with gray hair and a thick beard. He wears the simple clothes of a country worker and he has stab wounds in his chest. "Why did you kill her?"

"I… I…." He looks down at his bloodied hands… "I did not want her to suffer…."

"You suffocated her," Lord Hades says flatly with a dark brow raised. "That is a terrible way to die."

I look up again… only to find Thanatos smiling down…

"I tried to make it painless," he says, his eyes welling up with tears as I pull my attention back to his plight. "Her mother died when she was born… and it was just her and I…"

"She was eight years old," Lord Hades adds. "She woke up and begged you to stop."

The man starts crying in full, his sobs filling the hall with his sorrow as he covers his face. Lord Hades goes to scold more, but I speak before he can.

"Husband, wait," I say softly and he blinks at me. "Let us hear why he did such an awful act before passing judgment."

I wait for the man to start speaking and he rings his hands together nervously before running a hand down his face.

"The soldiers had razed the village next to my own. They murdered the men and raped the women and girls… taking some into slavery but leaving most to die in the fire… " His lower lip trembles and I sit even further on the edge of the throne to hear. "I was old... I could not defend our house and where would we go if we were to flee? My daughter was small… "

He lifts his hands like he meant to show us her size.

"She was so small for her age… small like a bird…So… so small….I could not let them do to her what they did to my sister..."

"Your sister?"

"She married a man from the other village," he explains through tears. "My daughter was so small," he repeats, his voice shaking. "She would not survive an assault of that kind. It would have… It would have really hurt her… I did not want her to have that pain. If she was to die... I wanted it to be peaceful… I wanted it to be without violation. So I built her funeral pyre and then I put her to bed…. It was the hardest thing… The hardest thing… She seemed even smaller after…. I carried her in my arms," he says, moving his hands again. "To the yard where I burned her body and beat my hands against the ground so the King of the Glorious Dead would know I was sending her home. Did you see her?" he asks like he just realized, looking at me with his eyes blurred with tears. "Did you receive her in your halls? Can I see her? Can I explain why I did what I did… so she can know I loved her above all else..."

I look towards Lord Hades for an answer, but he gives away nothing but a stony glare.

The man looks down at the ground, wiping his eyes…. but I keep looking at my Lord Husband.

"You can not punish that," I whisper and he turns to me, looking over my face with a critical narrow of his eyes. "His guilt is punishment enough."

"He had no authority to take a life before it had run it's course."

"And the army that was coming did have the authority?" I question and Lord Hades looks back at the broken man before glancing up at the gallery of hosts.

"How long after your daughter's murder did your death come to you?" Lord Hades asks, seeming to already know the answer and saying it before the man gets a chance to. "Twenty years."

"But…" I turn to the man as he starts crying again. "But the army…" I whisper as I look down at his stab wounds…

"The village next to his was razed," Lord Hades says. "His sister was raped and murdered… he did kill his own child with tears on his face….but he did it for selfish reasons."

"No!" the man yells.

"You killed her because you wanted to leave and thought she would slow you down."

"No! No, I did it for mercy. I did it for love!"

"You did it for yourself." Lord Hades stands up. "Do not lie to me. I know your thoughts. I know your heart. She was small, and sickly, and brought you down, and you told yourself you were doing it to save her... but you did it to save yourself. She had much life left in her, but you cut that off before she had a chance to see her full potential. You loved your daughter… That is true. But you loved yourself more."

"No! No!" the man shakes his head and then falls to his knees, beating his fists against the ground. "It was for love!"

"It was for love," the white male creature says in his wispy voice.

"It was for love," the white female creature repeats in her frosty sigh.

"For was it love?" they ask in unison before my Lord Husband cuts them off.

"How did you die?" Lord Hades asks, a fearsome thing in all his tall splendor, cloaked in darkened robes. "Tell my gentle hearted wife how you received those wounds upon your living flesh."

I turn back to the gray skinned man, my head tilted slightly to the side as he sobs into his hands.

"Tell her, Pheres."

At the mention of his name, the man looks up and then glances at me.

"I was out of money-"

"Tell her how you died." Lord Hades cuts in sharply.

"I was stabbed by this man on the road…"

"After you tried to rob him… and threatened his family…."

"I had not eaten for three days… and he murdered me! I wouldn't have hurt him.. I was just hungry. You understand?" he holds his arms out to me. "You understand, Noble Lady. You must see and take pity on my soul!"

Lord Hades looks to me.

"Do you believe my judgment hasty and unfair now?" he asks with a brow carefully raised.

I can not answer.

"Five lifetimes in the hanging gardens," he says, sitting back down as the words burn into the wall. "For the selfish murder of your own flesh."

He sobs as he's pulled away, and he sobs harder still when the blade is thrusted into his heart. I sit back… feeling unwell as he is dragged from the hall...

"How do you do this?" I ask, my face pale and mouth dry. "How can you stand to have this task?"

"I am the only one of my brothers with the temperament to handle it," he says seriously. "Who else would do what needs to be done as fairly as I?" he asks with a brow arched. "You will see the worst of men in this place, but also the greatest of their condition. They are few and far between, but there are many who will sway you into believing all is not lost."

I nod my head, trying to accept his answer as more souls come into our hall. Some are sent to torment… others are sent to the awful gray fields of Asphodel's. That terrible monotone world of despair and unhappiness haunts me more than the red sunned world of pain because I did not believe the mortals we sent there deserved that fate.

"All humans are tested during their lifetimes," Lord Hades explains after we send a mother of five to the gray fields for nothing more than being nothing…"They are given multiple chances to be righteous and good. Some fail by doing evil and some fail by doing nothing at all."

I try to hide my tears, and my Lord Husband notices my struggle.

"She was a good person," I whisper, still upset at what we had done.

"She failed each test put in front of her. She did not raise her voice to injustice. She did not comfort those that were unfortunate. She stole when she knew she would not get caught and she lied when she did not have to. Big or small, she failed and you should not waste your tears on her."

I can not help it… perhaps it's the depressing nature of the hall and it's inhabitants… perhaps it is something greater… but I start crying again…. pathetic little whimpers that I try to hide with my hand.

Lord Hades halts bringing in another soul and he stares me down.

"You're dismissed," he says after a pause and I look at him in surprise. "I will finish the rest myself."

He looks up at the gallery before spotting Minthe and motioning with his hand.

Minthe and the gap toothed nymph come flouncing down from the gallery and they scurry into the hall, waiting at the steps as Lord Hades stands to help me to my feet.

"Do not be fooled by the dead," he says as he takes my hand. "In time you will be able to see their true intentions just as clearly as I can. Our purpose is daunting and it will not boost your vanity in any way…. but it is important. The most important task there is. Do you see that?"

I nod.

"Take her to Elysium." He looks at Minthe who blushes under his gaze. "It is the closest thing we have to your living earth," he admits as he glances down at me. "You can go there whenever you like… but do not get stuck in it's illusion because a mask for mortals is all it is." He walks me down the dais, his warm hand in mine. "There is an entire world down here that you can explore when you are ready. We have Great mountains… winding rivers… entire oceans and woods… but they will not look as your sun kissed world remembers them to be. They will be different, but you will grow to love their dark beauty."

Dark beauty…

Lord Hades has a dark beauty about him. He is handsome like all the Great Father's are handsome… but there is something heavy in his expression. Something serious, and guarded, and otherworldly...

"Keep watch over her," he tells the nymphs before releasing me into their company. "Do not let her tread too far."

They smile and pull me from the hall until we end up in the green floored hallway with the spinning pillars of gold. The outside wall is full of arches that lead into all the different worlds of my husband's great kingdom and I stare into each one of them with a troubled frown.

"You did so well!" Gap tooth says as she skips beside me. "I often cry too, My Queen. Mortals are such sad little things."

"In time you will not cry so much," Minthe pats my arm in pity. "Mortals can be dreadful."

I ignore them until we get to the archway of Elysium where inside I find a shining meadow with tall grass and clear blue skies. It does look like the world above and I step inside, closing my eyes to feel the sun shining down. It burns cold, but I like to pretend it is warm all the same...

"Do you see the mountains?" Minthe asks, pointing in the distance. "They have real snow on the top of them!"

I notice a lush forest nearby. All green, and brown, and smelling of pine.

I carefully take off the crown and the jeweled slippers, placing them in a pile on the ground as the nymphs chatter about the land and it's mysteries. Minthe is speaking of the souls that rest just beyond as I take off the heavily draped dress to leave me in the short chiton underneath. It is indecent and only reaches my mid-thighs… but it gives me freedom to run...

"Where are you going?" I hear Gap Tooth call behind me as I weave in between the trees.

I smile to myself when I hear them give chase… but I am faster… and I run hard as I reach up to free my hair, letting the dead wind comb through the waves as they tumble down my back.

Nothing can grow in the dead earth… but the painted imposters are close enough to please me and I dance my fingers along the bark of trees and tickle the fake plants that litter the ground when I lose my attendants in the deepness of the forest. I take my pleasures in the fake wood… fondling the soil and smelling the air before hearing a strange call that causes me to look up. A black bird of immense size flies overhead, shadowing everything underneath it like a great cloud. I smile to myself as I remember my winged friends in Mother's sacred wood.

Birds always sing such pretty songs….

I take off after the creature, hopping over fallen logs and crouching under low hanging branches… forgetting all my troubles as I fall back into my old life of being a strange little wood creature all on my own.

The birds flies fast and far and I sprint after it with my cheeks getting hot from the exercise….but I am not as quick as the creature and I lose it after a while.

I stop to catch my breath, surrounded by thin trees that gently sway as I put my hands on my knees. I hear a trickling of water and I stand up curiously because it sounds… and smells… like a fresh spring.

I follow the noise until I find a narrow river, full of the clearest blue water I have ever seen.

It dips down into a small water fall before disappearing into a deep, dark cave that has an earthy scent coming from it. I walk closer, looking at the strange water and finding myself completely intrigued by it's beauty.

I lick my lips… perhaps I am thirsty and that water just looks so replenishing…Perhaps I will bathe in it… I go to put my feet into the water, but someone says my name and I look up to find Minthe.

She is perched on a large stone on the other side of the river and she holds her hands up in panic.

"Please do not get any closer, Dear Queen!"

I step back and clench my jaw in confusion as she runs over a fallen log that is damned in the river a little ways down and acting as a bridge to join both sides.

"If you even touch one drop of this water, you will forget everything you ever were or could be!" she calls, skipping towards me with her black eyes shining. "This is the River Lethe. It circles our world before dropping off at this point, swirling back into the world of men," she explains, getting close and grabbing my hand. "See, this is where Lord Hades permits those who have earned new life to bathe and forget their past troubles to be reborn in human skin," she says in excitement as she nods to the cave. "This is where they bring the children…"

"Children?" I question softly.

She nods before pulling me towards that fallen tree. "There are no children in the land of Hades," she answers gently. "How can you judge a soul that has not lived? The river cleans them with a mother's touch before sending them back to try again…Shh!" she stops and holds her hand up. "Do you hear that?"

I strain my ears… and hear the faint sounds of laughter.

"Oh, they are coming. Come here… We will watch…" She hops on the log, with the clear blue water running underneath as she pulls me beside her. "This is my favorite thing," she says and before I can question further… I see a group of children running towards the river.

They span all ages and cover both genders… Toddlers barely walking… youths before the bloom of adulthood… Even infants…Those too small to walk are being carried most tenderly by the older children and those too lively to be patient run forward with the abandon one finds in childhood. Most are unblemished, but some still carry the violence of their death… rope marks around small necks… stab wounds in the chest…Burns along their faces...

They hop and dive into the river… The injuries of their death washing away with the water until they sparkle in a divine way. I lean forward to see them… to feel their happiness as they swim into the darkness of the cave… Their souls disappearing to be reborn in a human skin to start all over again…

I catch something from the corner of my eyes and I turn away from the children to see.

An olive skinned woman stands on the bank of the river, watching the children with midnight eyes sparkling like onyx and a slight smile on her long face. She is wearing a robe made of dark feathers, her hair is coal black and curled, and an odd mist of darkness is surrounding her...

She has antlers like a male deer and when she turns to look at me, her robe begins shifting… moving and folding back until they become two great wings that span behind her… wide and proud as she jumps into the air in all of her olive skinned nakedness. I fall back… nearly slipping into the forgetful water… but Minthe catches me just in time.

"Did you see her?" She asks, helping me steady herself and jumping around in pleasure once the children are all gone. "Did you see Mother Nyx? They say even great father Zeus stands in awe at her power and beauty! She rarely lets other see her form. That is why you are so pale, is it not? You saw an Old One? There are many Old One's down here… Many in the confidence of our Great Lord!"

I swallow and nod my head, standing up on shaking legs and walking over the tree bridge to the other side of the river with Minthe close behind.

"What happened to the other nymph?" I ask curiously.

"Cissa is not a runner." She grins at me and threads her arm through mine. "She decided to take a break halfway through and I bet she's napping. She is always sleeping! Perhaps in the hopes of attracting handsome Hypnos with her fondness of his task!"

She giggles at that and start talking loudly about the gap toothed nymph named Cissa and her many attempts at finding true love.

"...though she is still a maiden…." she continues on as we walk back through the woods and into an archway that leads to my chambers. "... Only half a maiden, perhaps…" She jokes when she tells me about the sordid act Cissa had performed on a water spirit… "With her mouth on him!"

She follows me into the bath… and into my bed… talking the entire time.

"Everyone will be talking about how you were in the Judgment Hall this day," she smiles at me as she lays beside me on the bed. "How you spoke with so much passion and how Lord Hades took your words into account. He even let you change some of his rulings! He has never done that before! He must love you a great deal," she says with a sigh.

I don't say anything, but her eyes slide to the black door on the other side of the room.

"Oh no!" she shouts as she gets up to run forward. "The door is locked…"

"Don't!" I shout and she jumps, looking at me as I stand to my feet. "Don't…" I say a little softer when I realize how crazed I sounded. "I want it that way."

She seems so confused now and she tilts her head. "Do you not want his affections this night?"

"Not tonight," I answer, not wanting to divulge more of my fear to her.

"Not ever?" She asks softly… showing me she knows more than she lets on. "Not even after he has been so good to you?" When I don't answer, she frowns hard. "That is not a good thing," she admits with a head shake as she perches on the end of my bed. "A husband must feel wanted by his wife."

"Then why did he put the lock on the door if he did not expect me to use it?" I hiss back and she seems affronted by my response.

"Because our Lord is a kind Lord," she answers softly before biting her lower lip. "But…"

"But what?" I question with a brow raised as my mind sears me with the memory of how he had taken my virginity with so much force.

"He is not always kind," she contradicts herself as she shuffles towards me on her knees. "You can not always try his patience and affection can buy you more with a husband than any gold ever could. He has made you a wife, a queen, a revered goddess in the world of men, and one day he may even make you a mother…What more could a divine woman want or need in this life?"

I think on that for a moment, bringing my fingers up to my burning lips.

"He has handed you greatness and asked for nothing in return. But you have so many great gifts to thank him with," she says, sending a look down my body that makes me uneasy. "This is your chance at a truer love than one could ever hope to have… Lord Hades would not put the lock on your door if he did not want that too. I know this. I know this, yes?" she says as she grabs my arm. "Let yourself be happy here. Let it be wonderful. You are already marked with the words of marriage… Do not close down your heart or body to it's pleasures. Lord Hades is not like his lustful brothers… He will not have you and discard you like you were nothing… He can wait… He has waited thousands of years for you...Do not torment him further…."

"You spin pretty words," I admit, pulling my hand back. "But this was not born of true love," I admit my thoughts out loud. "He did not court me to gain my favor. He did even ask me what I wanted… He just stole me away like I was livestock, void of thought and feeling to his actions. He told me he would be my husband and I would be his wife whether I liked it or not. And it is kind that I can lock my door against him? He took me away from my loved ones and the only home I have ever known….and it is kind that he does not force himself into my bed?"

"A crueler fate than yours has been passed down to many women through time. Gods and mortals alike. I have sisters who have been sold into marriages they could never want… Ones who have been beaten, and raped, and left for dead…" She looks much more serious now and not even half as silly as before. "Those who have been had only for pleasure and those that have been had only for broodmares… Lord Hades did not shame you into marriage like Father Zeus did to Mother Hera. He did not trick you or chain you down. He has given you comfort and patience. Can you not be grateful and see the luck handed to you? How high could your expectations be, Dear Queen?"

"Higher than yours, apparently," I say cruelly and she swallows her words. "My mother taught me what I was and what I deserved," I add as I walk over to the purple fire, warming my hands by it's flame. "And it was more than this."

She goes to say something… to poison me further… but I cut her off. "You can leave," I say coldly.

I am perfect…. I am strong… I am talented and brave…

I repeat the words with my eyes closed as Minthe leaves my chambers, but my lids open when I hear a crashing sound. I run into the white, powdered room only to find one of my wedding gifts broken in pieces on the ground.

The ceramic pot is shattered all over the pristine floor with dirt smeared into the rug... The roots of the flower have been ripped from it's home in a vicious way and the poor thing is dying such a painful death. I fall to my knees to save the only living thing in this world… using my light and my gifts with pleas and whispers.. but to no avail….

Minthe had stomped all the life out of the living flower and cut off it's song forever.

There is no real sense of time in the Underworld.

There is no sun to judge the day… no night to count the moons. Instead I just get an hour glass of red sand that Lord Hades keeps a watch on with his shining eyes narrowed. I'm told it's months.. but I'm sure it's been years… maybe even decades.. since my descent into the darkness.

Minthe is not half as cheery as she used to be and she works around me in silence as her nymph sisters giggle and dress me... commenting on my hair, my freckles.. and how Lord Hades must love laying with me above all else.

But I have not laid with my husband since my wedding night.

As I rest in my darkened bedchamber, I think of the lovers in the woods and I listen to the hum of my own body that wants something even my fingers can not give.

Some nights, I do think he would be welcomed in my loneliness...because he shows me things… Like kindness as he explains his reasoning behind the choices he makes…because everything he does has a sound reason. Most of the time, anyways… I have still not found the reason for such a fearsome man to want such a silly thing like me.

He also shows me patience as he walks me through the many lands of his Kingdom, letting me look on it with awe as I take in it's massive scope.

There are wonders here, to be sure. An entire world apart from the one that I knew... with it's own laws and it's own creatures that call this dreaded place their home...Like famous Cerberus with his three vicious heads who guards the deadly gate with such firm authority and the black skinned cattle of the Sorrow Swamps that tear through the countryside, leaving blazing trails in their wake.

There is an orchard of living trees near the wailing river and they bear a dead fruit that is as red as mortal blood. They grow pomegranates, I was told, and a godling named Ascalaphus tends the trees with the loving care of a father. He gathers the fruit each harvest season and feeds them to the creatures and godlings down below. I was told they were cultivated using my Lord Husband's own divine blood and they were just as sweet tasting as the golden ambrosia of Olympus.

I dare not try it, though. Mortal food had always upset my stomach in such an awful way and I would not want to be sick and at the mercy of the nymphs in this land.

I spend my time away from my new husband with my ear pressed against the ground, listening to the rumbling song of Erebus and the plants that grow in the darkness. They sing such a lovely song of eternity and I have grown to enjoy their enchanted melody.

Most of my solitude is spent in the blue grassed meadows that span the outside of the realm where his mighty horses graze under a sky of forever night. He told me their names once...Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycteus and Alastor... All tall and strong... with long black manes and eyes that glow like stars in the darkness. He told me they were born in a misty dawn and loyal to a fault... He told me that one day they would be loyal to me too...

I blink out of my thoughts when Lord Hades takes my hand. His eyes are thoughtful as he brings my fingers up to his lips so he can place gentle kisses against my skin.

I do believe my Lord Husband means to love me…

Is that such an awful thing? How long should I stay angry for the way I was brought here? Was I being too stubborn? Too unfair? No… No, I am not… I deserved more than this. Didn't I? Of course I do. I deserve love and freedom. But there is freedom in love and love in freedom and I might be able to have it all with my Lord Husband if I could just accept his cold delivery of me into his world.

He feels me staring at him.. so he turns his face towards mine.

I can not help but smile a little. It is a fine thing to be treated so sweetly… and to be looked at so fondly by someone so very powerful...Should I be proud of such affection? I wonder if I could be fond of him too. Perhaps more time will soften my heart… Perhaps it would be better to allow myself to love him… How many turns of the hourglass must there be before I find myself loving this husband of mine?

I blink out of my thoughts again when an ashen faced attendant comes running into the hall. Breathless and hunched over, he stops before the dais with his hands on his knees as the two white creatures stretch their wings to block his path.

"What is it?" Lord Hades is not amused and he raises a brow.

"There… is…" The man inhales deeply and stands straight, trying to gather his strength. "There is.."

"There is what?" Lord Hades snaps, letting my hand drop as he leans forward.

"A living man!" he yells and I blink in surprise as the gallery starts to whisper. "He has passed the deadly gates and tricked our fierce Cerebus. He is held by the council of three kings and begs an audience with our Great King!"

"How is that possible?" I ask, my head tilted in question as Lord Hades works his jaw.

"He did not come here without help," my husband says. "Who is he?"

"He is…" The attendant is still out of breath and he leans against the memory pole when he finds himself too exhausted to stand straight. "He is the mortal son of Calliope. He comes... He comes…"

"Just send him in," Lord Hades waves his hand in annoyance and then man nods his head before turning and running from the hall, a limp in his side from fatigue. "If he is of godly blood," he explains as he sits back with his elbow on the armrest. "He can see us and explain himself."

"Why would he want to come down here?"

I can find no reason why anyone in their right mind would come to this horrid place if they didn't have to.

"Whatever it is, I hope it was worth it," Husband says darkly and I go to question him on his cryptic words… but the doors open and I look up to see a young man come in with a golden lyre under his arm.

He is quite handsome...with a halo of brown hair and eyes to match… He is slender and well formed with a riding cloak thrown over his shoulders. He looks nervous and his dark eyes dart between me and my intimidating husband for a few tense moments before focusing on me when he finds my face more agreeable.

I can hear his heart beating… feel his blood pumping… and I lean forward on my throne to see such a curious sight.

"My Lord," he says, dropping to his knees and bowing his head when he gets close to the dais. He seems so colorful…So much warmer than the gray skinned dead. He pauses for a second before sliding his eyes to mine once more. "My…Great Lady…" he sounds unsure of the title and I smile a little at his awkwardness. "I am Orpheus."

I have never been so close to a living mortal… not one that could see or acknowledge me so and I scoot to the edge of my seat… so much so that My Lord Husband runs his hand up my spine and tells me to sit back. I obey, but bring a hand up to my necklace, rolling a bead between my fingers as I listen to him speak.

"Son of Oeagrus of Thrace and the divine muse Calliope. I have come…" Something gets caught in his throat and he coughs it out. He is such a strange little creature and he looks up at the gallery when he hears whispers. His face pales when he realizes there are others watching and he licks his lips nervously. "I have come to beg… to plead… for the return of my beloved wife." He glances at the white creatures and their mighty wings at the bottom of the stairs... swallowing hard and making the knot in his throat bob. "She was taken from me by a wicked viper on the night of our wedding. I have traveled through many lands to reach you… to implore you in your all knowing mercy, to return her to me…"

"How true was this love if you were not willing to die for her?" My husband asks and I blink at the question before turning back to the living man. "That is the quickest way to my realm. You would not have to travel so far to be reunited with this wife of yours."

The man gulps again with his hands shaking and in his nervousness, he drops his lyre. The noise it makes echos through the room and someone in the gallery laughs.

"You wanted children," I say softly and he looks up in surprise as he fumbles to retrieve his instrument. "Family and hearth… the things even great Elysium can not grant." I turn to Lord Hades and give him a half hearted smile. "Perhaps that is why he came here this way."

I look back at the mortal and he nods his head, swallowing hard again when my husband's purple eyes sear into his skin.

"I can prove that my love is true," he says, holding up his lyre that is finer than even brother Apollo's instrument. "Let me use my talents to sing you a perfect song of love and beauty for my dearest Eurydice. I am not whole without her near…You must know that. You must see it. Will you grant me this request? I only know how to express myself through song and poetry. Any way else I find myself a fumbling fool."

"Of course," I answer and I can feel Lord Hades' annoyance. "Play your song, Orpheus."

He nods his head and sits down on the floor before us. He plucks a few strings and clears his throat before starting his song as the rest of Lord Hade's court gathers above, pushing against one another to see the oddity of a living man in the presence of their king.

Orpheus sings a somber melody… his voice so pleasing… his words so beautiful… I lean forward again, ignoring my husband as I place my elbows on my knees, entranced by the mortal's song of love lost and tragedy...I feel his pain and his unending love for his dear wife…I see it all before my eyes in colors of reds, blues, and brilliant oranges...The notes dance around the room like they were living things and I find tears in my eyes as I wonder if anyone could ever love me like this man loved his woman.

The notes turn into people... colors dancing and moving to tell a story of perfect joy and perfect love... all taken away too soon...

When he is finished, I jump to my feet.

"You may take her back with you," I say in a rash decision as the tears linger on my cheeks. The hosts above make hissing noises, but I do not care for them or their opinions. "It is true that you love your wife more than anything… such a haunting and lovely song you played."

He dares to smile… until his face turns to Lord Hades.

"Husband," I whisper, sitting down and placing my hand on his arm. "Can we not grant this?" I ask softly. "Is it not possible?"

He does not move or go to answer… He actually seems kind of angry and I bring my hand up, running my fingers along his cheek before moving through the hair by his ear. I wonder how much sway my affection can buy me and I smile a little when he turns his face towards mine.

"Were you not moved?" I whisper, not wanting the hosts above to hear me as I try to manipulate my husband. "Was that not the most beautiful song you've ever heard?"

He grabs my wrist, gently lowering my hand from his face. I feel more tears blur my eyes because I think I've failed and I'm about to be embarrassed when he has to go back on my word, but instead he uses his thumb to wipe my tears away and then he turns back to the living man with his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Consider yourself lucky, Orpheus," he says as the mortal stands to his feet. "My wife is much sweeter than I am," he admits, flicking his eyes to mine for a quick moment before taking my hand and bringing it up to his lips. He taps my knuckles against his mouth for a few thoughtful seconds before nodding his head. "You may return to the world of men with your wife," he says and Orpheus' whole face lights up in happiness…. So does mine… but I try to hide it. "Know what a gift this is," he says, his voice so deep and firm. "In all eternity, there is only enough sacred water to return a handful of mortals to the living earth in their first form. This will happen once and never again."

Orpheus nods, tears in his eyes.

"She will follow you back to the sun kissed world… but you can not look back. Not once," he explains. "She will not have a mortal skin until she steps foot on the living earth and you must trust that she is there. You must trust my word. If you look back before you both have reached the world above, she will return to her eternity and you will not see her again until your own mortal death. Do you understand that?"

"Yes. Yes, of course! Thank you! Thank you!" he bends down and kisses the floor several times in gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

He is led from the room and Lord Hades calls for this beloved wife.

I only catch a glimpse of her before she is given the sacred water. She is a pretty little thing with blonde hair and slender arms who was granted Elysium after death. Though her skin remains ashy, she does have a healthier glow to her appearance than any other mortal I have encountered here. Her cheeks are rosy with life and her eyes are a dazzling greenish blue.

When she is spirited away, I feel a pull on my heart.

"How wonderful," I whisper, looking towards my husband and smiling gratefully. "That was the right decision to make, Lord Hades."

"You think so?" He seems amused that I would tell him so and he flashes a smile at me. "I should not have even granted it at all," he sighs, running the back of his hand down my face. "But you were being so sweet."

He stares at me for a few long moments before letting his hand drop... like he remembered himself and remembered there were others watching.

"It is a hard thing to deny a wife everything she wants." He says seriously. "For your sake, I hope they make it." He dances his eyes along the freckles on my nose before moving to my naked shoulders. "I want you to be happy."

I want you to be happy…

Such strange words coming from such a strange host…

"Must we judge more?" I ask, my stomach turning as I think of the mortal and his love. How will I know when they made it? I wish to see! "Can we not stop until Orpheus has left?"

He looks over my face and then down at the hour glass that isn't even halfway through.

"Please, Lord Hades," I implore and he hesitates a second before nodding his head.

I smile and stand up, but when he doesn't follow suit, I give him a questioning look.

"Are you not coming?"

"No."

That is all he says.

"Oh…" I blink a few times before looking up at the hosts in the gallery. "Thank you," I whisper before leaving and going to my chambers.

I dismiss my attendants and play with my gods window… trying to see things in the dead earth but it only shows me a snow covered land from above and nothing else. I frown, thinking it broken, before falling back on the couch and bouncing my legs impatiently as I think of talented Orpheus with his lyre and haunting song.

Could anyone ever love me that much?

No one has come to rescue me from this fate. A mortal was brave enough to enter the land of Hades but none of my immortal family has dared cross his path. And here I am… Here I wait in this awful place wondering about love with a cold husband who takes his duty very seriously… but he is not always cold… and he is not always serious...

I shake my head.

Why hasn't my mother called on me yet?

After all this time, she has to know I am here…Right? Of course she must know…. but perhaps she does not want to see me. Perhaps she's upset that I allowed this to happen… perhaps she doesn't love me anymore….

Perhaps… Perhaps Lord Hades is my Orpheus.

Who knows what he had to do to get me here… all this he made for me….I stand up and move to my bedchamber, staring at the black door on the far side and wondering about my husband. Was it love that made him bring me here? He did not even know me, but if he chose me from a collection of Zeus' daughters, perhaps there was affection in his heart for me that he hoped would grow into a truer love than I could hope for.

Could he love me enough to do what Orpheus did for Eurydice?

Would I even want that?

I walk towards the door, chewing my lower lip before sliding the lock and pushing it open.

The place my husband calls his is large, cold, and dark… It is cut from the cave with no decorations to make it resemble a civilized room and his bed sprouts fully formed from ground like a natural wonder made out of green gypsum, black stones, and deep blue quartz. A table rests beside it with a bowl of blood red fruit on top and a dagger to cut them open by it's side. I wonder on the pomegranates before turning away to take in the rest of the room.

The place is mostly bare in it's immense size… But there are three large hearths that hold God's flames of different colors. One red, one green, and one a midnight blue... Above each is a God's window like the one in my room… A looking glass reflecting the world inside and out in gilded frames of golden leaves and trees. One shows the living earth, one shows the dead earth, and the last shows glowing Olympus.

Water trickles down the right side wall… it is black like the dead and leads somewhere further underneath the earth… a place where smoke and darkness lives… I turn away from the water to find a pedestal made of green marble and resting on top in a place of honor is a mighty helm forged out of black steel.

It's the helmet of a warrior and has the marks to prove it with wings of red feathers swept along it's side and gashes of violence along the edges. The thing covers the whole face and it shimmers oddly… almost green in some areas and almost crimson in others, but black overall... Ancient symbols are carved into the metal and they burn when I touch them, causing me to pull my hand back sharply.

The helm of darkness was given to Lord Hades by the cyclops' in reward for freeing them from their bondage in the war against the titans. Where my father got his mighty thunderbolt and Lord Poseidon his golden trident, Lord Hades was given the most clever weapon of all. To remain unseen to his foes, Gods and men alike….To go where ever he pleased and strike at the very heart of his enemies undetected….

I reach out to lift it from it's home, holding the heavy thing in my hands and dancing my fingers along the markings as they sizzle in red embers….

"Your mother and I fought together, you know."

I drop the helm at his voice. It clicks, and clanks, and sparks against the floor as Lord Hades' watches me from the doorway.

"At the highest point in the heavens, where the horns blared the loudest and the cosmos were just starting to expand..."

He picks up his helm and walks towards me.

"She was fierce," he says, gently placing it on the pedestal where it belongs. "Beautifully fierce…but things changed. All things change in time."

He blinks out of his thoughts and looks down at me.

"You look just like her," he admits in a deep voice. "But you are your own person, are you not?" he asks, bringing his hand up to run down my arm. "And the more I view you… the more I find you really don't look like her at all." He smiles slightly as his own inconsistency. "Your eyes are kinder…." he says, bringing a hand up to cup my cheek. "Your lips are fuller…" He puts his free hand on the small of my waist to pull me closer. "And you are much sweeter than she ever was."

"Do you love me, Lord Hades?"

The question is heavy and it makes him pause.

"Would you like that?" he asks, his voice sounding almost eager as his eyes flash. "Would you like for me to love you?"

When I don't answer, he kisses me softly… a gentle kiss of a lover…

"You are so very young," he admits when he pulls back, his purple eyes dancing all over my face before settling on my lips. "You should be married to a boy." He lifts a dark eyebrow, letting his fingers trace the strap of my dress. "A sunkissed youth who has just reached his god's age. Is that what you'd prefer?"

"You're my husband," I say instead of answering because I don't know what my answer would be if I truly entertained the thought.

He smiles again

"Yes, I am," he replies. "Love is not one sided, Persephone," he says, my name rolling off his tongue in such a pleasing way. "We could live a thousand years as husband and wife without it and still be content. I have known of worser fates, but if it's love you want it must work both ways for it to be true. The more important question is whether you could love me." He moves the strap of my dress down my shoulder. "And would you, if you could?"

"Why did you take me?" I whisper when he bends down to press his lips to my neck. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I have not wanted anything in a very long time," he says seriously. "Can you imagine what a long time means to a host like me?"

"A very long time," I whisper.

"A very long time, indeed," he confirms. "And in all that time I wanted nothing at all… not until I wanted you." He moves hair away from my face. "It is a strange thing to wake after so many years of slumber… It is a strange thing when a content solitude grows into a burning desire..." He trails off thoughtfully before becoming deadly serious. "If you want me to love you, I will. I swear I will. All I ask in return is your affection and perhaps one day you will find yourself loving me too."

He kisses me again, his lips more insistent and his affection burning hot. I feel the wild lust clawing in my stomach as I kiss him back. His words settling on my whimsical heart like a hopeful blanket and I'm confused by my own want for it. His hands are everywhere at once and I bring my fists up to grip the front of his clothes as his mustache and beard burns my skin.

"Let me show you," he murmurs against my lips as he uses his hands to undo my dress until it falls at my feet. He steps back and starts to undo his belt and his eyes soften when he sees my hesitation. "I will go slow," he says seriously. "It will not hurt like before. I can promise you that."

He waits for me to agree before smiling and kissing me again. He takes off his clothes and presses me back on his bed. I sink into the softness of his mattress and shiver nervously as he crawls on top of me. I stare at the power between his legs and blush at his hardness, the fear coming back when I remember the pain it brought me last time. He hovers over of me for a moment, his purple eyes dancing over my face and then my breasts as I place my hand on his strong shoulder.

"Open your legs," he urges gently like it was all the invitation he needed.

When I do as he says, he settles between my open thighs…and then he smiles at me.

It's a true smile that shows his teeth and the beauty of it takes me by surprise.

"You are such a lovely creature," he admits in a deep voice as the desire burns my heart. "Such delicate features you have," he whispers as his fingers run over my nose and lips. "Your body so incredibly soft and nicely formed," he adds as his eyes become heavy with lust. "I am proud to call you mine."

When I give him a bashful smile in reply, he kisses me deeply and then he takes his time readying my body. Unlike before, where his lovemaking was a jabbing pain void of affection, my husband caresses and kisses all my wanting points until I'm burning with an ancient desire that begged to be filled.

He looks into my eyes as he slides inside of me and I inhale deeply at the intrusion.

It doesn't hurt.

There is no pain, just a slight discomfort before disappearing altogether... and he kisses me sweetly before rolling his hips against mine, moving his body in and out of my own in a rhythmic way that I like. I put my hand on his back when a feeling takes me and his skin burns under my palm as he controls his movements from becoming frenzied, with his jaw clenched and the sinewy muscles of his arms ticking as he holds himself up.

This was not like before… This was something else… This was making love and each song… each poem… and each word about the act proved true as my husband showed me his gentle skill.

I lift my legs and lock them behind his back to cradle him more and he bends down to suck on my neck, marking me as his. I finger the scars on his back and even dare to kiss him when the desire blinds me and forces me to shed my shyness. My kisses are opened mouth and consuming.. tasting all of him in my want to be his in every way. I pull him close and keep him near as sweat gathers on my skin and lust fogs my thoughts. A fire builds between my thighs...and the deeper he goes, the faster he moves, and the sweeter he is… it seems to grow more and more until I can not stand it any more.

The bursting feeling others have described to me comes and goes and comes again until I am crying for a whole other reason. I arch my back when the pleasure takes me and my husband kisses away the tears before angling himself in a different way that makes me cry out once more.

We make love for hours… for days…. until Lord Hades is finished and I lay back against the bed, staring dazed at the ceiling as he breathes deeply beside me.

"Was that better?" he asks and I look at him, smiling to see his hair a mess and his cheeks red.

"Yes," I whisper, my voice a soft sigh.

He traces his hand down my nose, my neck, between my breasts as he turns on his side.

"Will you sleep now?" he questions softly like he truly didn't know.

"Are you tired?" I ask, smiling as I push wet hair away from my face.

"I rarely get tired," he admits. "Not anymore."

"You are far too old for that," I joke and he smiles.

"Perhaps," he replies. His fingers continue their search down my stomach and thighs.

I put my hand over his and his eyes flick to mine. He is searching again… for what? I do not know… so I kiss him instead, threading my fingers through his hair and pulling him close.

"I hardly sleep," he murmurs against my lips as he stirs underneath the covers. "I never sleep anymore," he corrects himself as he opens my legs and moves on top of me. "Do you think you can keep up with me, my wife? Or am I too old for your young heart to stand?"

I laugh at that and pull him to me, letting him take me again, and again, and again, until I learn all manner of love making and the sensations each move can bring. He is a patient teacher and an eager student to learn my body and I almost love him each time he pulls the bursting feeling from me with each move and slam of his fine hips.

I do not know how long we were in his bedchamber… perhaps weeks... but he was still not sated and I felt him kissing my shoulder to wake me after a short slumber of fatigue.

"What were you speaking to my mother about?" I ask in a tired whisper as his hand goes to my breast.

We have never spoken so intimately before and I felt comfortable enough to finally ask him about all the things I have been wondering these long months.

"What do you mean?" he asks as I stretch my arms over my head and turn on my back.

"On Olympus," I yawn into my hand as he leans down to place soft kisses on my breasts. "When the Great Father made the announcement about your kingdom. What did you want from her?"

You always want something….

"It doesn't matter," he answers flatly, his tone taking on the familiar dryness I have become accustomed to as his fingers move between my legs.

"Does it not?" I ask gently, bringing a hand up to his face, wanting him to be sweet to me again. "Have you spoken to her since you brought me here? Does she…" I trail off for a moment, letting my hand fall. "Does she ask of me?"

"No," he answers after a silent pause and I can not help the frown that turns my face. "Why would she?"

"Because she loves me," I answer softly, wanting him to confirm it as I stop his fingers from dipping inside of me. "I thought she would have called on me…."

"You belong to me now," he snaps like it explained everything and when he sees the look on my face, he is quick to continue. "Have you ever known your mother to back down or give in to something she did not agree with?"

I shake my head and he tilts my face towards his.

"Do you think even a host as strong as I could hold her back if she wanted to see you?"

Tears gather in my eyes. I can not answer for fear of sobbing outright and he watches the emotion pass over my face with his brows furrowed in a dark line.

"Why do you care so much?" he asks thoughtfully. "You're not a child anymore."

It takes me a second to realize his confusion. I love my mother… my mother always loved me… and what of Lord Hades' mother? She swaddled him up and fed him to her husband straight from her womb.

"I don't know," I lie instead, wiping away tears with the back of my hand.

"A wife's place is with her husband and you are right where you belong. Do not let your heart be troubled by Demeter's abandonment. Our love could be everlasting if you allow yourself the pleasure."

I hesitate a moment before nodding my head, trying to see the sense in his words. He is right. I am a girl no longer, and women do not trouble themselves with the thoughts of their mothers. He kisses me in a heated way, stopping all conversation as my body wets with his advances. He responds in kind and I smile to myself when I feel his arousal pressing against me once more.

"Your beard burns my skin," I admit to change the subject before turning and pushing him on his back. He smiles as I mount him again, pressing my knees into the bed and balancing my hands on his chest.

"Does it?" he smiles with his hands on my waist as I reach down to guide him into my body. "Perhaps I should get rid of it then?"

"Perhaps," I joke as I lower myself onto his hardness….moving slowly at first before going faster as I press kisses to his lips.

My Lord Husband is handsome. Minthe was right about that and the more he is inside of me, the more attractive I find him. I am sure there was never a better looking host and I wonder if he feels the same about me. I look down where we are joined with a hand balanced on his shoulder, wondering if I please him and wondering if what he said about not having children was true... because right now I almost wanted him to put a child in me.

I wonder what force we could create together. What new gift could we give to the world with our lovemaking?

I realize all at once that I want a child of my own… A child he could give to me… A child I would love….

I shake my head of such a thought and run a hand through his hair, focusing back on the task at hand as that fabulous feeling builds and breaks inside of me until I whimper out loud at it's swift release. I rest against him as I come down and place lazy kisses on his neck and shoulder until he is done with a grip of my waist and a jerk of his hips. I sigh and close my eyes, smiling a little to myself as he sits up against the headboard.

"I want you to eat," he says deeply after a few moments and I pull back to watch him curiously as he holds up a pomegranate.

"Food makes me ill," I admit as he reaches for his dagger, sitting back cutting the fruit in half to reveal the red seeds inside. "I ate a berry once and threw up for an entire week afterwards."

"This will not disturb your stomach," he says, setting one half down on his table and the other half he hands to me. "It was born from the dead earth and fashioned for our tastes."

He plucks a seed from the fruit and pops it into his mouth. He swallows before giving me a slight smile.

"Go ahead," he urges as I move to dig a seed out, but I stop when an arch appears beside the bed and one of Lord Hade's ashen faced attendants steps in.

"My Lord…" He seems shocked to see me and turns away when he realizes I'm naked.

My husband moves to cover me with his blanket and I slide off of him, covering my modesty and setting the fruit on the table with it's other half.

"What is it?"

"The mortal has returned to the living earth."

Orpheus.

I sit up on my knees and smile at the attendant as he bows his head.

"And what of his wife?" I ask as Lord Hades sits straight. He's blocking my view of the attendant, so I lean forward and place my hand on his arm. "What of Eurydice?"

He seems reluctant to answer and he turns to Lord Hades for permission before continuing.

"The mortal looked back before she reached the end of our land," he admits and I furrow my brows as he looks at me uncomfortably. "She did not make it, My Queen."

"But…" I shake my head because I don't want to accept it. "That's not right."

"They were so close," he's quick to explain, nervously looking at his King. "So very close… but the temptation was too great for him and he did not have faith. She has returned to Elysium."

"Where she belongs," Lord Hades admits as he looks over his shoulder to find me. "Do not be troubled," he flashes a smile so his attendant won't see. "He will know death soon enough and see his love once again. As it should have been to begin with." The attendant doesn't leave and Lord Hades gives him an irritated look. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes," his eyes slide to me before looking away quickly. "There is visitor in the atrium, My Lord."

"A visitor?" I ask softly and Lord Hades narrows his eyes.

"An important visitor," the attendant stresses like he did not want to divulge the visitor's name in my presence. "Who is demanding and audience with you."

"Demanding?" I say in surprise as Lord Hades lifts himself from the bed to get dressed. "Who would demand anything of you?"

"Stay in these chambers," he says instead of answering. He bends down and kisses my troubled forehead. "I will send someone to fetch you when you can leave."

"Who's here?" I ask, getting up and wrapping the blanket around me.

He does not answer and he is gone with his attendant a moment later. I lay back on the bed with a sigh before smiling at the ache between my legs.

I pick up the pomegranate and roll a few seeds between my fingers as I think of My Lord Husband and how I do believe I could love him if I tried.

And love is the most whimsical thought of all.

The Great Hall is very festive this night.

Outfitted in glowing blues, shining greens, and vibrant reds, Lord Hades' dark court is celebrating the overthrow of Great Uranus by his youngest son. Eons ago, Cronus with his damning pride had castrated his own father and stole the mighty throne from him. Mother Gaia in her intense pain had spurred the mutilation along and I suppose it is a cause for celebration because had she not put the sickle in Cronus' hand, none of us would be here this day…. and silver haired Cronus with his blazing red eyes would not be shackled down below…

I wonder if he hears our jubilant music in the never ending darkness…. I wonder if he feels our contentment in his darkened prison...I wonder if his eyes are on fire this very instant...

A loud pitched giggle pulls me from my musings and I turn towards the noise… seeing Minthe dressed in pink lace and spilling nector on the floor in her amusement. I inwardly roll my eyes at the display, but I smile when she feels my stare. I am trying to be kind to her and she is trying to be kind to me, though she is not nearly as pleased as she used to be. I can not find it in me to be bothered by her apparent lack of enthusiasm because I have found a new way to entertain myself.

I smile a little at the thought and glance at Lord Hades.

He beds me often and my door has remained unlocked in anticipation of his sexual advances. It is so thrilling to be had in such a way that I find myself longing for his touch when we are apart and thinking of him everytime he is away. I like how his lovemaking makes me feel and I never knew how much I craved the intimacy of a husband until I allowed myself to have it.

Though introverted and prone to long bouts of thoughtful silence, Lord Hades has shown himself to be a passionate lover and a pleasing companion. He tries to keep me in his confidence, but my Lord Husband lives very much in his own mind and sometimes he goes days without actually speaking to me at all. I can not be upset by it because even in his silence he takes me again, and again, and again, and again….Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a perpetual state of arousal…

Minthe giggles again and I shake from my perverse thoughts, letting Lord Hades gently take my hand in the way he likes. A vicious plague has hit the living earth and the dead come in droves to our haunted gates in search of peace. Everyone down here is overworked and restless, so it is nice to see them relax. Even my Lord Husband has had his fair share of stress, sending countless men and women to punishment. So many clay born mortals have resorted to cannibalism to curb their hunger and that offense seems to anger Lord Hades more than any other.

I look his way again, searching for conversation but finding his brows together as he stares at the yellow dressed girls dancing at the center of the hall… Watching but not seeing as his thoughts consume him.

I open my mouth to say something, but I hear a strange noise and then my brain pulses painfully.

"What is it?" My husband notices the change in me and he lifts an eyebrow.

"It's…" I stop when I hear a whisper…

Mistress of The Unseen One… Pound. Pound. Pound….Have mercy on the husband I send to you…Pound. Pound. Pound... He was mad with hunger and lost his way…Pound. Pound Pound… Do not judge him too harshly… Pound. Pound. Pound… Take care of him until the hunger takes me too..

"I hear a voice," I admit and when I close my eyes I can see her too. She is crouched in front of a funeral pyre, beating her hands against the snow covered ground with tears on her face. I see her husband too… A half starved man with wild eyes… "I see them."

I clench my fists when more voices assault my mind, yelling and screaming over each other to get my attention. I bring my hands up to press against my ears to stop them.

"Persephone," Lord Hades tries to pry the hands from my head. "It is the prayers of mortals you hear…"

I look at him, wincing when more voices join the chorus of pleas.

"They come often and always…" He explains as he grips my wrists. "You must push them back. The prayers that are given to us are just curses and laments. We can not change things in the land of the living, nor can prayers truly sway our judgments. Move them to the back of your mind and do not let them overtake your senses. You will go mad with grief if you do."

He motions for the musicians to play louder and then he gently takes my hand, bringing it up to his lips. The voices eventually fade and I press back into my chair, staring at the dancers performing in time with the music. I turn to Lord Hades and stare at his profile…feeling affection for him deep in my heart.

He has stayed clean shaven since the night he made love to me in his room and I quite like the way it makes him look.

Perhaps my feelings could grow to love. It was easy to forget the bad and remember the good. My Lord Husband had made a queen of me and in return I have made a lover of him…. and now people above prayed to me and asked my favor in a way they never did before. I can almost forget who I was because now I am a different person entirely. I am a Queen. A Goddess of importance… A wife to a Great Father….but… but I can still remember his chariot bursting forth from the ground. I can still remember his coldness as he brought me to this place… I still remember my fear and how loudly I screamed….

I pry my hand from his and he looks at me quickly for the slight.

"I think I'm going to take a walk about the room," I tell him when the whispers scratch at my mind, clawing to get in.

He nods as I stand up and walk down the dais. His eyes burning into my back as I walk through the crowd of hosts who all bend their heads in respect and part to make room for me. I find solitude along the outer wall and I look at the tapestries hanging down that tell the story of men, and gods, and the great wars each have fought.

I find a likeness of my mother, her hair shining red gold as she pulls wheat from mother Gaia's womb to feed the new humans.

"Such a fine goddess your mother is," a voice behind me says and I turn to find Thanatos watching me, his eyes cloudy gray and swirling like clouds.

He has a hand up by his lips as he leans against a statue of a winged beast made of red marble.

Thanatos is death… My mother had taught me… Death is a Shadow…

"And such a generous mother to her daughter."

I give him a questioning look and he steps closer. He's dressed in all red, his great wings dragging against the ground as he makes his way near.

"It seems like she is determined to give you every living soul in the world above," he continues and I furrow my brows. "A late wedding gift, perhaps, to destroy humanity for the sake of her beloved daughter."

I open my mouth to question further, but I hear a sharp giggle that pulls me away and I turn towards the dais. My Lord Husband stays on his chair, drinking from his cup the honeyed nectar that comes from above… and kneeled by his throne is dark haired Minthe. She laughs and touches his thigh… He gives her a slight smile in return as I feel a dark cloud of jealousy creep up my throat…

"Our lovely Minthe has always been overly familiar," Thanato says when notices where my attention is. "Men...women...Gods…I hear she has even bedded a satyr. Lusty creatures, as they are."

"Has she been with Lord Hades?" I ask carefully, my voice going flat at the possibility.

"I believe that our Great Lord is very particular in his love making," Thanatos answers, his dark lips curled in a smirk. "Which of course you would know all about, My Queen."

"Would I?" I question, going back to glare at Minthe when I hear another loud pitched giggle come from her.

What is Lord Hades saying that is so funny? He is hardly funny at all….

"We have never seen our Great King move so fast, you understand," he says softly, turning more towards me and stretching his wings to block my view of the dais. "Not until we heard that lock on his door slide open in invitation. He didn't even trouble himself with the rest of his judgements, he was so determined to reach you in your need. Was it as good as I imagine it to be?"

I blush at his words and refuse to answer.

"Do you miss the sun, Persephone?"

It is the first time someone down here who wasn't my husband has spoken my given name and it takes me by surprise.

"Yes," I answer honestly.

"I was born of night, but I still can appreciate Great Helios in all his glory. I am called to the dying earth often and always in all manner of night and day."

"The dying earth?" I ask, furrowing my brows when I catch that word. "Why do you say it's dying?"

He smiles again.

"Because your mother is killing her," he answers. "Each day Mother Gaia grows weaker… each day Mother Demeter blocks her growth and prosperity. Each day I am called to the surface to deliver souls from their bodies and the line to our kingdom grows longer and longer still."

"Why would she do such a thing?" I ask with a troubled frown as I think of my mother, who always took her task so very seriously.

"Why indeed?" he asks as his eyes skip over my face. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" He holds out his black dipped arm for me to take. "I find it helps clear the mind."

I take his arm, following beside him on the outskirts of the hall as the women dance like mad in the middle.

"Do you know what I do?" He asks curiously.

"You're death," I whisper softly...and death is a shadow….

"I am more than that," he admits. "It is my job to release mortals from their fleshy form. That is what death truly is," he starts as we turn the corner with blue skinned nymphs laughing nearby. "It's like unlocking a door," he explains. "If I do not do my job, their souls are stuck inside a rotting corpse for the rest of time. They age, they decay, they return to dust… all the while stuck inside and watching… and waiting… and suffering. Their forms are meant to perish, but they were given some of our everlasting light when we first breathed life into the clay and called it man. I must pull that light from their chest and send it down to your shores. They give us purpose, you know. A reason for it all."

He smiles as he trails off, his thick eyebrows slightly tilted.

"Do you know how we know we're immortal?" he asks in a queer way as he pulls me closer to him with his hand on mine. "It it quite a thing to announce. One can not truly say I shall live on forever because we will never see the end of forever, will we?"

"We never age… We never perish..." I trail off as I attempt to make sense.

"Right, but forever is a long time and what if there is an ending on our forever life? What if tomorrow we all perish just out of no where because… why not? How do we know we live on? Is Chaos truly the beginning and the end to all thought?"

I look at him and suddenly we stop walking. He takes my hand and brings it up to lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles so very gently in a way that makes my stomach turn. His breath is a cold deadly chill and his hands… his hands are wet.

"We know we do not die, because when Cronus ate your husband and his siblings….He tore into them with his sharp teeth, tearing their bodies apart as he swallowed them down his throat," he says, dancing his darkly painted hands down his neck and gulping loudly to show me. "They stayed in pieces in his belly. A hand there… a head here… a heart…a lung… all mashed together and growing.. and thinking… and feeling in the darkness…They begged for death. I was just a child at my mother's breast when I first heard their call."

He taps his fingers against his temple and then he brings his left hand up to his mouth, making a shushing sound behind a finger.

"They screamed, and cried, and begged…They would have given anything to be nothing, but I could not grant that release. It was forbidden. Forbidden by the void even older than ourselves. Older than anything we have ever known...and in the darkness, in their torture which lasted a millennium and more... Chaos sang it's song in time with their cries. Chaos told them the secrets of forever and the warnings of tomorrow. Man's curse was not that they were doomed to die… It was our curse that we were doomed to live on... Even in the pit… Even in the nothing… Even when time runs out... Do you see?"

He tilts his head, his pale eyes seem to be swirling with gray clouds and for a moment I could swear I saw lightning flash inside of them.

"They were fully grown, well past their God's age, when Zeus came to free them. The Fates were called upon to sew them back together using that shining thread of life that burned into them forever after. So they would never forget… Never again... Surely you've seen their scars," he says with a little smile, his eyes sliding back to Lord Hades. "Surely you have seen the trauma divine torment can cause."

I send a shy look towards the dais once more, to find Lord Hades staring right at me. His expression is cold and unwelcoming so I turn away from it.

"He will surprise you yet," Thanatos whispers in my ear. "But surprises are not always good," he adds before his attention shifts to something else and he holds out his arm. "Brother," he calls when golden haired Hypnos makes his way into the hall. "Always late," he mutters against my shoulder and I dare a smile as the bronze dressed host makes his way over to us.

He is holding a bundle of something bright red and when I realize what it is… I curl on toes.

"Those are poppies!" I say excitedly as I tremble to touch them… to smell them.. "Why do you have fresh flowers?"

"They grow on the outside of our home," he explains, blinking at me and then looking towards his brother like he was a bit confused. "A whole field of them at the outside of our cave…"

"Your home opens to the living earth?" I ask in awe as my mind places the information away for future use.

"I use them in a potion that I make for..." he trails off and scratches the back of his head. "Would you like one?" he pulls one out of his bouquet and goes to hand it to me, but Thanatos grabs it before I can accept.

I watch as he kisses the top and runs his lips down the stem, making the thing glow oddly before turning the petals deep purple and the stem a shimmering black…

"What have you done?" I ask as he hands it to me. It feels cold to the touch, but it still sings it's song so I bring it up to press against my ear. "Have you killed it?"

"No," he smiles gently. "It will never die. Stuck forever in between like you, and I, and them," he nods to the crowd. "But it will still sing it's sweet song."

I listen to it's call before tucking the gift behind my ear. "Thank you," I say, smiling gently and then looking at golden haired Hypnos. "Thank you both so much."

He has such a sweet face… Far sweeter than any in this world and the girl in me grabs his shoulder so I can reach up to kiss his cheek in gratitude.

Hypnos smiles when I pull back, his cheeks pink in a blush.

Thanatos's smirks at the display.

"I must present myself," Hypno's remembers, bowing his head in my direction. "Make myself known to our Great King," he adds before dismissing himself and walking towards the dais where my Lord Husband is still entertaining the rageful nymph.

"He is old," Thanatos's says thoughtfully. "But he still has the heart of a boy, that brother of mine," he says as we both watch bronze clad Hypnos announce himself to court. "He looks upon you fondly, My Queen. I believe you will find his affection painted all over that pale face of his," he adds and when I give him a questioning look, he smirks once more. "He wants for a wife."

"Why ever would he want such a thing?" I ask bitterly and he glances at me from the corner of his strange eyes… the white lightning striking in it's misty grayness once again.

"Does love not blossom in marriage?" he asks, a hand on his lips.

"Does marriage not strangle such a feeling dead?" I ask, letting my spiteful thoughts get away from me when I see Minthe hop up to sit on my chair as she falls into a deep discussion with Lord Hades.

The rage of jealousy creeps up my stomach again… burning my insides up as I watch him talk to her in a way he has never talked to me.

"My Queen," I turn to see blue skinned Megaera, looking ferocious with her leather wings and flaming eyes.

I greet her as graciously as I can. Thanatos grabs a golden ambrosia from a tray that passes by.

"Tread lightly," she says cryptically. "You are not the only one who burns this night." she adds before taking off again… back into the shadows where I can not see her but I do not care to find her….

I only have eyes now for Lord Hades and the traitorous nymph as they enjoy each others company in a heavy way that pains me and embarrasses me… I feel a rumbling in my chest…The hint towards something evil inside of me and I know I must leave…

"Will you not kiss me too?" I hear Thanatos ask, but I have already turned away… Already started walking from the hall with my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides as I hear the giggles of Minthe in my mind…. Seeing the way he touched her so sweetly... The way he spoke so gently….

My mind starts playing tricks on me. It shows me lies and speculations of a relationship I have no way of knowing about. Minthe has known all kinds of lovers Thanatos had told me.. and my Lord Hades? Where has his lust been sated if not with his wife?

It is a shameful thing and I make my way towards the blue grassed meadow where the mighty horses graze and the dead trees grow just over the hill with their blood red fruit. I take off my heavy dress, leaving me in the short chiton underneath as I run into the meadow and through the orchard nearby.

I listen to the call of the trees and to the call of the mortals as they yell, scream, and plead with me from above.

Have mercy! they shout as they pound their fists against the ground. Great Queen of the Dead, soften your husband's heart as I have softened mine! Take pity and have mercy for our plight! Please, Great Lady of the Dark. Have mercy on my everlasting soul!

Something dark appears in front of me and I run into it, falling back and landing hard on the ground.

"You can not leave the Great Hall without my permission first."

My Lord Husband glares down at me all tall, and strong, and cloaked in midnight with the sky forever night behind him. He's holding my dress, gripped tightly in his right hand.

"It makes me look foolish when I have to admit I do not know where are you are when someone from our court begs your audience."

I struggle to my feet, pulling down my indecent clothes.

"Thanatos disappeared right after you did," he continues, his purple eyes dark with rage. "After you were so familiar with him, that kind of thing will make people wonder."

"Wonder what?" I ask flatly, still angry about Minthe with the rage of Chaos blackening my heart.

"If you mean to be unfaithful to your husband."

I scoff.

"And what do people wonder about you letting an annoying nymph sit in my place? What do they wonder about that?"

He doesn't respond, but his jaw ticks in anger. After a few moments he reaches out and takes the dead flower from my hair, staring down at it's purple petals that are as dark and damning as his eyes.

"You should not have have been so informal with Hypnos and Thanatos this night," he says darkly, crushing my everlasting flower between his hands and letting it fall limp onto the blue grass. "Kissing them and letting them kiss you…You are their Queen, not their next conquest."

"It was innocent," I hiss, trying not to show how upset I am by him destroying my gift.

"It gives men the wrong idea," he says like I was foolish for not knowing. "You invite unwanted attention when you act that way."

"You sound like my mother," I snap. "Like what I say, how I look, and what I wear should be at fault for the evilness in my brothers. I can be evil too," I tell him and he raises a brow like that amused him. "What were you speaking to Minthe about? Why was she smiling so much?"

"Put your dress on," he says as he throws the fabric at me.

I catch it, but angry that he did not answer and angry at the way he's talking to me… I throw it right back.

"I can see right through your clothes," he points out sharply, throwing the dress back at my chest. "Put it on before others see you."

Instead of obeying his order like a wife should, I turn around and start running… I run through the trees and through meadow past his horses… I run through the archways and the lands of dead men… I run until I reach the Judgement Hall where the white clay creatures with their glorious wings are still standing, staring but not seeing, as I skid in front of them. Feeling foolish for being so unclothed in the presence of such ancient and serious beings, I struggle to put on my dress, failing to master the drapes and clips like an idiot…

The creatures swoop their wings around until they cover their bodies like the cocoon of a butterfly. It makes me jump back and I turn to run again, but I feel a presence behind me and a strong hand twists in my hair.

"How dare you run away from me when I'm speaking to you," he says, his voice a deep hiss as Chaos lurks in his eyes.

"I dare much more than that," I taunt him when I feel his arousal pressed into my back…. and the Chaos comes to take me too... only for a completely different reason.

He must feel it too, because he pushes me forward and I catch myself on the armrest of his throne. I start breathing heavy as he works to lift the dress around my waist and I close my eyes when I feel his belt give way before he sinks into me.

His love making is sharp and angry at first… before slowing down to a less aggressive, steady pace. My anger... my darkness... leaves me and I place my hand over his when he rests it on my stomach.

I find that jealousy is a dangerous game that must be played with caution...but it had such thrilling rewards. To be marked, and claimed, and made love to as if he wanted to say this is mine was an exciting thing and I enjoy how primal it all is.

When we're finished, he adjusts his clothes before sitting down heavily on his throne and pulling me with him. Breathless and red faced, I curl up against him and kiss his neck…. resting my head on his shoulder as I try to still my beating heart.

After a few moments, I pop my head up stare at the veins at his temple… I bring a hand up to trace the dark lines with my fingers, wondering what he looks like under his skin. He has the golden blood of the divine pulsing through his veins and his bones are black and nearly indestructible…. but I wonder what his heart looks like. I wonder if it is red like mine…

"I will never forsake you, Persephone," he says, his voice a deep rumble in his chest as he takes my hand and kisses my fingers.

He tilts my face towards his.

"Does my wife grow to love me now?" he questions seriously. "Will you forsake me if given the chance?"

When I don't answer, he digs into his cloak and pulls out a blood red pomegranate.

"Now that we have had our jealousy and lust," he says with a wry smile as he cuts it open. "You will finally taste the fruit of my kingdom."

"It will not hurt my stomach?" I ask, pulling a few seeds free.

"No," he smiles. "You must trust me."

I bring one up to my lips, his purple eyes heavy with lust and pleasure.

"You should eat one for each month of a human year," he says and I look at him curiously. "It's for luck."

"Luck," I smile as I pop the seed into my mouth.

It has a tart taste, but still delicious, and I let it slide down my throat before having another as my fingers become stained with their juice. He watches me eat three… then four… then five….and by the time I swallow the sixth one, he surprises me with a kiss, letting it become heated and deep before the creatures stretch their wings out... making Lord Hades pause and stand up.

"What is it?" I ask, forced to stand as well.

He stares at the door at the end of hall and after a silent moment, it slowly creeps open.

"My Lord!" A gray skinned attendant comes rushing in, waving his hands to get our attention. I attempt to right my dress as the fruit falls to the ground, the seeds rolling down the stairs and all over the dais. "My Lord! He has passed the Godly Gates! I could not stop him!"

"Who has passed the Godly Gates?" I ask and I resist asking what the Godly Gates are for fear of seeming stupid.

Husband surprises me by lifting his hand to silence me and I sit down on my own throne, watching curiously.

"He carries no dead with him," the attendant adds with his eyes bulging in fright. "He carries no dead-"

"Lord Hades!"

Brother Hermes comes into the hall, pushing the attendant to the side, completely soaked from head to toe. He carries his golden helmet in his right hand and an extinguished torch in the left.

"I have been waiting outside your gates for two weeks!" he shouts, shaking his shaggy curls of the wetness that clings to them. "And that stupid dog chased me into that stupid river…" He pours water from his helmet onto the floor with a scowl. "Father Zeus told you of my arrival and-"

He stops when he notices me and then he dares a dimpled smile as my Lord Husband settles back on his throne.

"Persephone," he says. "How good it is to see you-"

"She is a Queen now," Lord Hades interrupts, his voice flat and unwelcoming. I look at my husband fondly despite the frostiness in his voice because I am still warm and glowing from our lovemaking… and possibly the seeds moving through my body…. "You will address her with more respect in my halls, young Hermes."

"It's okay," I say quickly, reaching out to comb my fingers soothingly through his hair to calm his temper. Hermes blinks in surprise at the display, evening opening his mouth in shock when I curl some around his ear in affection. "Why have you come here, brother?"

"You do not know?" he seems confused before his bright eyes turn to Lord Hades. He straightens his spine at the look he receives and then clears his throat. "I have been tasked with retrieving you, dear sister…. er… Queen…" he corrects when my Lord Husband's eyes flash dangerously.

"Retrieve me?" I nearly laugh. "Whatever for?"

"Our Almighty Father has ordered you be returned to your mother at once. Her grief over your disappearance has brought a curse to the living earth and she will not return her gifts to man unless you are safe in her embrace."

"What?" I whisper stupidly. I have had my hints… but does this mean.. Does this mean that my mother… "She did not know I was here?" I ask and Lord Hades gives me a sharp look.

"She has spent these long months searching," he says, stepping forward only to fall back when the creatures spread their wings to block him. "She has been distraught, depressed, so very worried as she traveled the world trying to find you. Only Great Helios knew of your abduction and..." He looks at Lord Hades and swallows his next words. "And she eagerly awaits for your return."

I stand up, an odd feeling taking my heart.

"I gave my answer to my mighty king brother when he graced me with his presence." Lord Hades stands by my side, grabbing my wrist and pushing me behind him like he meant to shield me from my small and harmless brother. "He knew of this union, condoned it, and gave his blessing. He can not go back on his word."

"But Mother Demeter means to kill everything on earth!" Hermes shouts desperately before remembering himself and who he is talking to. He clears his throat before continuing with his head bent in respect. "She means to let all the humans, animals, and even the vegetation perish, if her daughter is not brought back to her. Father Zeus has commanded it so. In his all knowing wisdom, he saw she must be returned to the Great Mother Demeter so you must release her to me."

"Must I?" he asks darkly. "Am I not just as mighty as my little brother on his golden throne?" he asks bitterly and brother Hermes dares not answer as his hand tightens around my wrist in a painful way. "She is marked with my vows and my seed." Hermes glances at me, his eyes look sympathetic and sad… But Lord Hades slides in front of me to block his view "She is mine in every sense a woman could be and you have no right to take a wife away from her husband… especially a wife of mine."

"I am just following orders, Lord Hades." Hermes pleads desperately. "If all things above decay without regrowth, we lose our purpose and Chaos will come to swallow us whole. You must know that, Great Father. Surely you must!"

"Will you take her from me?" Lord Hades asks as he lets go of my wrist and walks down a few stairs to get closer. "I would like to see you try."

Brother Herme's gulps at the threat in his voice and so do I because it sounds so serious. Looking at them now… there is no question who would win if they were to fight. My Lord Husband is so tall and big compared to little Hermes that my godling brother looks like a child in comparison.

"Lord Hades," Hermes tries again, holding his golden helmet over his heart in an imploring manner. "She must return with me to the dying earth or we will lose everything we ever fought for. Everything," he repeats with emphases. "And we will be nothing but tortured thoughts in the void."

"Demeter hardly has the willpower to live up to such a threat," Lord Hades replies with scorn. "She has always been so flippant with her outrages and I doubt this curse of hers will last much longer."

"You underestimate the love of a mother, Lord Hades," Hermes says gently before his blue eyes slide to mine. "She misses you a great deal, my sister," he tells me before giving me another sad smile. "We all have missed you…"

"You are dismissed from my presence," My Lord Husband says flatly. "Leave my halls and give my answer to my proud brother."

Hermes panics and I look to Lord Hades as he turns to walk up the steps.

"She is killing the earth," I whisper as I start picking at my fingers nervously. "I must go to her."

"You must do nothing of the sort," my husband answers, his anger showing through.

"I thought I would never see her again…." I whisper to myself as I think of my mother… so beautiful and glowing with love for me. "You told me…"

Should I accuse him of lying in front of another? I know I should not and I shake my head, pressing my lips together.

"She is killing everything, Lord Hades." I walk towards him, wanting him to see. "The humans are desperate and they're suffering. I must return to her. I must speak with her to get her to stop."

My husband pauses for a moment, his thoughts guarded before he motions to the ashen faced attendant still huddled in fear on the floor.

"Bring a riding cloak for my Queen," he says flatly before walking up the dais to get to me. "We will not be apart for long," he says, brushing hair away from my face. "You are a grown woman. This land is yours now and you can return to it whenever you like."

He kisses me sweetly.

"A husband's love will beat a mother's word every time," he whispers before the attendant approaches with a black cloak just my size. "Do not let her make decisions for you. This life is yours, not hers. You have no obligation to contribute to her happiness… but every obligation to contribute to mine," he adds darkly.

Lord Hades fits the cloak around my shoulders, and I am too shocked to really grasp what is happening as he claps the silver pin at my throat.

"Think of me often and always," he says deeply, kissing me again in a more heated way. "And return to me soon. I will be watching," he says seriously, running his thumb over my lips. "Do not betray me or my rage will be swift and cruel."

"I will not betray you, Lord Hades," I am quick to say, not liking the glint in his eyes. "I will remain just as faithful as if you were beside me. I promise."

The smallest hint of a smile creeps on his face. He bends down and gives me a long and languid kiss before walking me down to brother Hermes.

"I will never forget this," Lord Hades says as he holds my hand out to pass it off to my brother who gulps in reply. "Be kind to her on your ascent or I will ruin you."

Though I find his threats unneeded, they were kind of sweet in an awful way.

Hermes nods his head and the attendants come forth to walk us to the Godly Gate, where those of the divine cross into the land of the dead through a white metal gate that leads to a long and narrow stair case.

"Lord Hades has gotten a lot scarier than I remember," Hermes tries to joke as he gently takes my hand. "Was it awful?" he asks softly as we start our climb.

I don't answer as I throw up my hood and he nods his head in acceptance.

"Everyone will be so pleased to see you. We had no idea what became of you and hosts were speculating the worst…."

"Did she really not know where I was?" I ask and he looks at me, his eyes shining in the torch light.

He lied to you… My thoughts become bitter and my heart twists. He tricked you...

"She heard your screams," he whispers sadly. "But that was all before there was silence. For a moment we thought..."

"You thought what?"

"We thought you had died."

"We don't die," I reply in shock to his words, but he just nods his head.

He tries to fill me in on the gossip and horrors from above, but I can not listen to him as I think of Lord Hades. Would I return to him if given the choice? A part of me is not sure and I resolve to speak to my mother about it… Like an adult… Like a woman grown...

"We're almost there," Hermes smiles at me. "Your mother is waiting with Hecate in the woods. The torchbearer was a loyal companion in the search for you and they have grown into great friends..."

He says something else, but I can not hear it and when we get to the mouth of the cave, I fall to my knees when the bright sun makes me weak. I hear Mother Gaia sing her song in the soil and I press my ear to her surface, tears in my eyes at her voice.

"My daughter!" I look up to see my mother a little distance away. By her side is brown skinned Hecate, her golden eyes glowing as she watches me closely. "Oh, Persephone!"

I start running towards her and she runs towards me…Through the snow and the barren ground so we can meet half way to embrace each other in a tight, tear filled hug of relief and joy.

"My darling girl," she cries, pulling back to look at my face. "How pale you are," she points out as she moves hair from my eyes. "Your freckles have all but gone!" she gives me a watery smile before embracing me again. "I have missed you so much, my love."

"I missed you too," I whisper honestly, sobbing against her like a child.

I knew Lord Hades was wrong. My mother would never forsake me.

He lied… the voices whisper again. Of course a man lied to you...

I let her hold me before pulling back and looking at the forest… All the trees are bare and gray… The grass is gone with a blanket of freezing snow covers it all.

"What have you done?" I whisper, tears in my eyes for a different reason when I notice the silence of the woods.

"Nothing you can't fix," she says, kissing me again. "We will mend the world together, you and I, and all will be as it once was. You will see… We will make the world beautiful once more and forget all this awful business."

She starts pulling me along, her flowered feet making green grass grow behind her in her happiness.

"Mother?" I stop walking and she glances at me in surprise. "Will I have to go back there?"

Would I want to? I had trained myself not to hope for such a freedom, but now I can not imagine being taken away from the living earth to walk those haunted halls of the dead once more.

"Of course not, my darling girl."

She kisses my forehead, my nose, my cheek before pulling back and inhaling deeply.

"What is it?" I ask with tears in my eyes as she lifts my hands… staring at the blood stained juice on my fingers.

"What is this?" she asks, sniffing each finger before looking at my mouth, noticing more juice smudged on my lower lip. "Did you eat from the dead earth, Persephone?"

She seems panicked now and she looks to brother Hermes and dour Hecate with her purple eyes inflamed.

"Did you eat from the dead earth!" she grabs my arms and shakes me violently. "Tell me!"

"Mother, stop!" I shout back, trying to pry myself away from her firm grasp as snow starts to fall around us. "You're scaring me!"

"We must talk to Father Zeus. We must go this instant! Stupid girl!" she shouts at me and I back up in surprise. "You ate his blood fruit, didn't you? He tricked you, didn't he? He knew I was on to him, the fiend!"

"Let us ascend," Hecate's voice is a low whisper. "And talk to the Great Father before becoming upset."

"What is it?" I ask desperately. "Why does it matter if I ate the dead fruit? He said it would not make me sick."

"But it would bind you to the underworld and he could call you back whenever he saw fit," Hermes says gently as my mother's eyes go wild in anger. "How many did he force on you?" he asks gently as the wind blows his blue cloak over his shoulder. "Was it more than twelve?"

I shake my head as the snowflakes settle in my hair. "Only six. I only had six… What does it mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything yet," Hecate reasons as she smiles at me. She's wearing an embroidered cloak of golden leaves and she has a crescent crown resting on her braided hair. "Not until we talk to the Great Father."

We ascend to glowing Olympus, my mother demanding to see her King Brother in the Great Hall with no politeness or preamble. Father Zeus looks irritated when he sits on his throne with Mother Hera dressed in green by his side.

"Did I not give you everything you wanted?" Zeus asks cruelly as hosts begin gathering in the general assembly to watch the display. I stay back by brother Hermes as the other godlings stare at me in surprise. "And now you come pounding on my door demanding what? What do you want now, dear sister?"

"I want your word that my daughter…."

"Persephone…" a soft hand dances up my arm and I look towards the bell like voice to see Aphrodite by my side, a slight smile on her full lips and her emerald eyes dazzling brilliantly. "You are a girl no longer," she says. She looks down my body as my mother and father fight back and forth for my freedom. "Your maidenhood is broken," she points out and I blush that she could tell. "Did Lord Hades savage you?"

She tilts her head, a long sheet of blonde hair falling over her shoulder.

"No," I whisper, and she smiles wide.

"Then you submitted on your own accord? How generous you are." She snakes my arm through hers as my mother stomps her feet against the floor. "I must admit I have often thought of what kind of lover our dark Lord Hades would be. I like to imagine he would be gentle.. but then rough when his lust pushed him further. I've always liked it a little rough and Lord Hades is just so big."

I try to tug my arm back, but she holds firm.

"But of course, you are much sweeter than I am," she sighs as she looks over the gathering crowd. "I would never willingly lay with a man who raped me away to punish someone I loved."

I give her a troubled look and she smiles.

"You look so very much like your mother," she brings her hand up, playing with the curl by my face. "What a nice little substitute for his lust and what a brilliant way to punish the woman who had scorned him for so many years. To take away the only thing she ever truly loved…." She blinks at me when she realizes I don't understand. "Surely you must know that Lord Hades did not steal you away because he could not contain his want? He is an ancient force, not a foolish boy full of romanticism."

She laughs at the look on my face... A bitter laugh of a cruel woman because beautiful Aphrodite has always been a spiteful host..

"Why, you are hardly a woman at all!" she says as my ears burn red when Hermes looks my way. "Just a silly little thing of no importance and you could never hold a flame to your lovely mother." I look towards my mother as she says it. Seeing her face set in determination and her cheeks pink in a blush. She is so perfect…. "Even I can admit, with some degree of spite, that Mother Demeter is almost as beautiful as I am… almost…" she stresses as she starts playing with my hair. "But the lovely lady has sealed her legs so long ago that no male has dared go near her in a thousand years."

Zeus slams his fist against his thigh, his anger making the god's flame behind him rise…

"But good on you for finding a fondness in your heart for the husband who stole you away." She pats my arm and gives me another sardonic smirk. "I know I could not love such a devious man. Not one who only wanted me to hurt my mother… but then again, I never had a mother... so perhaps those ties are not as close as I imagine them to be."

She shrugs her small shoulders.

"Is that true?" I whisper pathetically, tears in my eyes at the thought.

"You are far too sweet to lie to," she says lightly and I nearly detect a flash of sympathy before it disappears altogether. "It is true Lord Hades and Mother Demeter have a history. It is true that your dear mother always rejected his affections when giving in to others around him. It is true that Lord Hades is a vengeful god… and it is true that you are far too naive to know any better."

What do you want? I hear my mother's words in my mind the last time we were here as she walked with Lord Hades. You always want something...

I feel it building… The rage of Chaos bubbles in my stomach before creeping up my throat.

"I do not want to go back," I decide, walking forward to stand in front of Father Zeus by my mother's side. I can do without his love making… I can do with out his silence.. I will not be a tool of revenge in his game. "I will not return to that awful place."

A hush falls over the court, surely they were wondering what horrors I was privy to, but I will not give them the satisfaction of knowing.

"My daughter," Zeus sighs as he sits forward. "I sympathize with your situation. I am not heartless and I know how my brother can be, but you ate from the dead earth and there are rules older than time that will bind you to the world underneath. Those ties are stronger than anything above and you must return to your husband one month for each seed you swallowed."

Six… Six months out of the year…. half the year…

"Then the earth will die while I am away," I say to the surprise of the hall and my mother who readily agrees. "So you will be reminded of my grief and the grief of my dear Mother as she brings a winter to your shores. The world of men and gods will not be easy while I am gone in the darkness and you will be reminded of the barren land you sent me to as a frost settles over your kingdom."

The words blaze on the walls and Father looks at them in surprise.

"So it's been written…" he whispers as my words sear into the stone. "So it's been said…"

"So it's been said," I repeat before tilting my head when I hear the voice of a priestess praying in the halls of a great temple.

Do not let me die in the summer…She whispers as the words of the gods write into her thoughts. Let me die in the winter….The new word rolls from her lips like a bitter chill…. When the world is dead and love is lost... so I can face merciful Queen Persephone who alone can sway her hardened husband...

The walk from the great hall with my mother at my side as the voices of men and women who are blessed and cursed with the seeing eye whisper prayers onto my light.

Do not let me die in the summer… they call as I walk from the room, my brothers and sisters watching me closely.

Let me die in the winter…

Let me die in the snow…

Let me die in the frost…

Let me die in the cold…

Let me die when Dreaded Queen Persephone is in the haunted halls of the dead…

When she sits on her godly throne….

Let me die in the winter...so she can have mercy on my everlasting soul….

And I will be merciful. I will be merciful to all but one.