Springs Volition

Chapter One - Hades' Predicament

The first time he saw her, he thought he had been bewitched. For he had never seen such a beautiful creature as she.

Chocolate waves hung in front of her face, the curly tendrils partially masking her from his longing gaze.

She is beautiful.

Every step she took, he could feel his internal torment flourish and grow; just as her flowers did.

It is a year before he ever speaks to her, opting instead to watch her from afar.

For she is so beautifully unaware of the pain she causes him.

Everything she does is beautiful, he thinks.

It is a year of silence, for every time he leaves her, his world goes mute. Sound only seems to return when he hears her laugh; it carries through the air with the Autumn breeze, coiling itself around his heart threatening to constrict him.

It is a year when he watches her writing in the beds of her children, a thin branch poised in her hand, humming as she writes effortlessly.

When she is finished, she stands and admires her message amongst the narcissus's, their yellow bulbs swaying in the breeze that seems to follow her voice's melody. Laying the branch down beside them, she walks towards the fields from which she came, only to disappear once more.

When she leaves, he feels the familiar burning, the cauterisation of his heart that seems to only wound instead of heal.

He had a problem, and the name of that problem was Persephone.

He approached the spot she occupied moments before, the dirt looked untouched, not yet disturbed by unworthy hands.

Hades inhaled deeply, flaring his nostrils as he felt the crisp air begin to cool his still burning heart. The sharp curves of her letters caused a rare smile to spread across his face, ear to ear. Her handwriting was elegant and free. Handwriting had always fascinated him, the sloping motion of the letters, turns of the wrist. Especially her handwriting.

Fascinating.

The feel of the Earth beneath his feet was exhilarating; the soil soft as it caressed his skin. The idea that she had been standing in the very spot he was, was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Crouching down towards the pristine message that she had left behind, his eyes swept over the words. As the message sank in, his heart stopped.

Rereading it, he felt his body go cold,

"Why do you sit and stare, but never speak?"

She had known? The thought of her knowing of his… affliction, unnerved him to his core.

He had to leave, and never come back. He had been found out and that meant he could never face her.

It was time anyways, he decided. It had been 371 days since the first he saw of her.

Tomorrow would be the first time he didn't.

The edges of his shadow cloak brushed gently against the ground, smudging at her once perfect lettering. Just as he was about to turn away, the sight of the narcissus flowers caused him to freeze.

The white and yellow bulbous flower called to him, just begging to be picked and whisked away with him. As he reached out to grip the stem of the plant he had an overwhelming urge to simply, touch the petals.

A stolen touch, but was it really? It was an opportunity to touch her, or at least a part of her, he reasoned. Plucking the flower from the soil, he examined the petals. The ache in his chest returned and because of that, he knew it was real.

She was real. His feelings were real.

And now she was really gone.

Shaking away the thoughts of what he had lost, he allowed the tip of his finger to graze the center of the flower ever so slightly. When his finger met the soft flesh of the flower's center, something magical occured.

The once tightly bound yellow center was now unfurling around his finger, gone was the blinding yellow of Apollo's sun. Instead, it was replaced with the fiery embers of his domain.

The red was beautiful,

Just like her.

It was silent when he heard that mellifluous voice once more,

"Well?"

Frozen in place with his back still to her, Hades closed his eyes, willing himself to stay. With the flower still in hand, he slowly turned on his heels to face the daughter of Demeter.

There she was.

His Persephone.

Absentmindedly, Hades stroked the petals of the flower again. He watched curiously as Persephone shuddered in pleasure, seemingly at his touch.

"Why do you watch me?" she asked him. Her voice was neutral, only the slight sound of mutual curiosity was detected. Not anger.

How strange.

Meeting her eyes, Hades nodded once before tucking the flower within his cloak.

"I think you are beautiful."

The look of surprise on her face warmed him, every moment of any day he saw her, she looked beautiful. But in that moment, when she was looking at him, no, seeing him, she looked radiant.

"You do?" Persephone questioned, taking a small step forward.

He nodded, "I do."

She stopped to look around at the surrounding field, as if searching for someone or something. When the thing she was searching for seemed to not be in sight she took another step towards him. "Will you take me somewhere?" She asked, her eyes silently pleading.

Hades bit his lip to stop the gasp from escaping, eyeing the young goddess he searched her face for any signs of deceit.

He found none.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked. He didn't know what answer he was hoping for, just that she wouldn't run.

"Yes," she whispered. Reaching her hand out towards him she waited for him to take it, "Will you please take me somewhere Hades?"

The lump that had formed in his throat threatened to leave him inaudible. Nodding slowly, he clasped his hand with hers tugging her gently forward till she fell into his chest. The feel of her curls against his neck and face caused an involuntary shiver to run down his spine. Wrapping his arms around her small frame, he pulled her onto his toes, trapping her against him.

"Where do you wish to go?"

Struggling to lift her head up, Persephone gave a small smile. "Anywhere."

Hades's heart stopped, "Be careful what you wish for, little flower…"

She smiled knowingly, clutching his body tighter, "I know what I want."

Smirking, Hades wrapped his spectral cloak around them as he watched the ground below them crack and sink in. "Are you sure?"

Persephone nodded once more, hugging his torso as she closed her eyes.

"Hold on tight," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you..."

And with that, The God of The Underworld and The Goddess of Spring disappeared.

Only a small white and red Narcissus flower lay where they stood, the only evidence they

were ever there at all.

xxx

352 Days Later

"Hades," a man's voice boomed from behind him in warning.

Flicking his eyes up from his bowl, he watched as the man approached him. "What do you want, Zeus?" he growled, gripping the arm of his throne tightly.

The man, Zeus, stepped forward. The clink of a metal bowl caught his attention as he looked downwards. There, clutched between his fingers was a fruit the colour of fire. The red licked at his fingers as he squeezed it slightly.

The pomegranate was a warning.

A promise.

He held a strong stance, but Hades could see the cautious gaze Zeus's eyes held. He was weary of what the God of The Underworld would do.

He should be.

"You have some nerve being here after what you did to me, to us!" Hades voice roared. As the words left his mouth the cavernous walls of his throne room began to quake.

Zeus watched as the walls began to crumble with each word The God of The Dead spoke, so he did what he never does. He listened.

Tossing the bowl to the floor, Hades rose from his seat, seeming to grow larger with each step as he approached his brother. "YOU TOOK HER FROM ME," He screamed. The shadows that protected him now rose and sharpened, preparing to defend their master. "SHE WAS THE ONLY THING I EVER LOVED! YOU KNOW THIS!" Hades raised his left hand, the pomegranate still in the right, as he released the shadows from his back, forcing Zeus against the rocky walls of his home.

The light in Zeus's once steel eyes dimmed to murky black, the anger building within him thrashed out in waves. "You never loved that vacuous nymph, Hades. You were obsessed. She never loved you."

The icy tone of his voice caused Hades to halt.

No… h-he he couldn't be right... Persephone chose him!

"You lie," Hades seethed, tightening his grip. The shadows pinning Zeus to the wall strained to keep the God contained.

"You know I'm not, that's why I did what I did brother… she asked me to do it."

That was enough to make him snap.

His hands and thighs ran red as Hades squeezed the pomegranate, the innards of the once beautiful fruit now lay in ruins at his feet. "You are trying to tell me she CHOSE to have her memories destroyed? How obtuse do you truly think I am Zeus! She would never do that, you stripped her of her powers! YOUR OWN BLOOD!" His chest burned with that once familiar pain of loss, he couldn't breath. Falling to his knees, he watched as his shadows retracted back to his side, embracing him.

Sighing, Zeus stepped forward, dropping to his knees as he laid his hands on Hades's shoulder. "When I told you to steal her, I meant for you not to be caught. Perhaps things would have been different had you been more careful."

"I wasn't just going to abduct a girl, Zeus! I loved her!" he screamed, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Yes, yes. That's what you say, but what if you don't? Or rather… you didn't?"

Raising his head, Hades looked up at Zeus, confusion written across his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Shhh… don't worry about that now brother, just… rest," Zeus placed his hand on the side of Hades's head, conjuring just enough energy for what needed to be done, and just like that, Hades fell.

His head ached from the electricity that coursed through it, his body lay limp, immobile. His vision blurry.

The sound of Zeus clicking his tongue caused the haze to lift momentarily as he looked up into his eyes, silently asking, "Why?"

"I truly am sorry brother… but this is for the best, I assure you." Motioning towards the edge of the room, another man came into view.

Hermes.

Zeus turned towards the other God, "Do be careful with him, we need Hades to be intact when Hera obliterates all memory of her, understood?"

Hermes only nodded.

Hades lay in a clump, only half aware of his surroundings and what was to come. Even in his haze, he could only think of one thing.

His Persephone.

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Hi guys! So I know you all probably have a lot of questions, and that's good! I will come back to this memory as it is essential to the main plot. I love the Hades and Persephone myth but I decided I wanted a twist, you will see more of what I mean later ;) I am very excited to see where this goes and I hope you all will take this journey with me! I love the idea of Draco as Hades and Hermione as Persephone as both are such powerhouse characters that you can't help but root for them. xx I know this was a bit of a shorter intro... but I promise next update will be much longer ;) Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! if you have the time (and don't mind) I would love to hear your thoughts about this, so please read and review! I love to see people's thoughts and am always happy to discuss! Until next time, all my love! - LittleMissEighty-Sixed