The sun was high up in the sky on that fateful day. It wasn't any different to the previous days, the heat still bore down on the mortals making it unbearable to walk outside for the fear of suffering heat stroke and sunburn. But for the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus the sun was reason to relax, to waste away a lazy summer's day bathing themselves in its golden light. One of these Goddesses was the young Persephone, daughter of Zeus, king of the Gods, and Demeter, Goddess of grain and fertility.

Persephone's mother was extremely protective of her, she was rarely permitted to visit Mount Olympus and many of the Grecian cities. Instead Persephone was kept out of both eyes of Mortals and Immortals. She lived in the forests; her company mostly consisted of nymphs. On this fateful day however Persephone had abandoned company, preferring to enjoy the sun and it's warmth by herself.

Persephone sat beside a small river, a waterfall a little to her left sent rippling motions across the water's surface and for a while she simply sat there admiring the effect. She was dressed in a simple white peplos that draped over her left shoulder leaving her right one bare. Her midnight black hair was pinned up in an elegant bun secured with a golden circlet, to a mortal the gold was unbendable, to a god it was like mere elastic. She had discarded her sandals earlier preparing to walk barefoot when in the forest.

A small sigh escaped the young goddess's rose coloured lips, she was fed up of being alone. She had no real companions, the nymphs were friendly and fun...but they lacked adventure and a sense of humour. They spent most days sitting around gossiping, the most adventure Persephone had was to collect flowers. She enjoyed doing this, she admired their beauty and their delicious scents...but it was hardly something that sent adrenaline pumping. She craved new surroundings. New companions. Instead she was confined to the forest to keep her out of sight of males; her mother was too protective and didn't want her daughter getting a reputation of any sort!

As if I cannot look after myself, Persephone thought bitterly. I'm eighteen! I'm a goddess! I'm hardly a defenceless damsel in distress! She had long ago stopped rebelling against her mother's over-protectiveness; she knew a lost battle when she saw one. And this had been one of them. Standing up Persephone looked around to make sure the area really was empty, she was hot and longed to cool down – the clear water of the river was too tempting and she was going to give in to its calling. She slipped her toga off, placed her golden bracelets and choker on top of it and carefully stepped into the water; soon she was submerged so that only her chin upwards was free of the water. She laughed and swam a few lengths back and forth, enjoying the cool water and imagining her troubled thoughts flowing away with the current. She became so absorbed in swimming she didn't notice the slow change in the weather, how the clouds seemed to appear from nowhere sending a slow and steady darkness across the land.