Persephone
By
Rob Astor © 1993 - 2004 by Rob Astor
Author's Note: This story contains scenes of graphic violence and sexual explicity which may not be suitable for all readers.
The marble image came alive,
Began to moan and plead
She drank my burning kisses up
With ravenous thirst and greed.
She drank the breath from out my breast,
She fed lust without pause;
She pressed me tight, and tore and rent
My body with her claws.
- Excerpt from the forward of Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine, 1839
Lush forests bordered the open green field. The constant chatter of birds and noises of other forest animals were subtle. Babbling waters of a gentle brook splashed around well eroded rocks. Near its bank, a beautiful young woman lay on her side in the soft grass amidst a bed of fresh spring violets. Her tender, youthful form was covered in the flowing white robes of a toga, her coal hair cascading in waves along her shoulders.
Nearby, a group of young maidens were dancing. Their faces were radiant with youth and girlish pleasure. Giggling and laughing rose from their group. One looked toward the girl laying among the violets. "Persephone! Come! Come and join us!"
"Yes!" called a second. "Come and gather the blooms spread for us by the hand of the goddess your mother!"
The girls broke their merry circle and ran through the field toward roses, glads and daisies. Persephone turned to watch them leave. Her face was sobered with an expression hinting displeasure. "Go on. Go away! You silly girls. Your thin, high voices are scattered and as annoying as a cage of magpies! Go and leave me alone."
Turning back, Persephone saw her reflection in a calm part of the stream. She stared at her vibrant face and dipped her finger into the water, distorting the image. Gazing at the violets around her, Persephone found their fragrance not at all pleasing.
Laying on her back, the young maiden raised her skirt to expose her bare thigh. "Oh Apollo, god of the sun, how I wish you could please me as you please mortals with warmth and music," she said in a sensuous voice. Her tone changed then, again hinting her displeasure. "But my mother would not allow it."
Her eyes dropped to the violets. "My mother!" she spat. "She would keep me a babe in swaddling clothes forever, if she could." She cupped her breasts and slowly slid her hands down to her hips. Her voice was soothing then. "She cannot appreciate such a small waist and heavy breasts." She took a violet and crushed it in her tiny hand and swatted at those remaining.
The shrill giggles of her attendants again reached her ears. Agitation was clearly etched into her features as she turned toward them. "I told you to go away!" the youthful goddess snapped.
Their laughter faded as they receded, heading Persephone's wishes. Over them, a breeze gusted across the field. As it intensified, Persephone gazed across the river. She noted the trees were perfectly motionless. Even the violets around her were undisturbed. Still, the gust became more powerful.
Persephone glanced from side to side in question. Her maidens were no longer in the field. Animals were no longer making their usual happy sounds. The breeze was fading but nothing stirred. Persephone brushed strands of long black hair from her face, curiously looking about. The goddess slowly realized she was isolated.
At the edge of the forest, a crack formed in the dirt. Loose gravel fell away as the crack gradually opened into a chasm, splitting like cracking thunder. From within the gorge, four black stallions burst fourth laced with streamers of black fire, pulling an iron chariot whose single passenger was clad in ancient black armor and a helmet with a plume of black fire and a billowing cape darker than midnight. The hoof beats echoed through the trees like rolling thunder, throbbing with a sense of urgency.
Slowly standing, Persephone stared into the trees where the thundering enveloped every living thing. She was timid, yet alert.
The fiery steeds galloped into her view. Wild streamers of black fire blew behind them like the wind blowing their manes. Swiftly approaching, the stallions trampled the violets. The black figure pulled on the reigns, halting their advance. Persephone was shivering and smiling, wringing her soft hands before her. Her mouth started to form words.
The black figure swept an arm out and an invisible force pulled Persephone up to him where his arm clasped her waist, hoisting the goddess into the chariot beside him. Persephone stared into the night black helmet, trying to read anything, her mouth still trying to form words. He stared at her youthful face for long moments.
Snapping the reigns, the stallions lunged forward, following a path leading deep into the woods. Persephone continued to watch the black figure and then was aware of the forest rushing by. She saw the deep hole in the ground and the stallions pulled them in with the speed of lightning. The driver was silently intent to lead the fiery horses.
Persephone leaned closer to the black figure as the light dimmed. She glanced to the side a few times, ducking as roots and dark branches reached out to sting her. An unnatural haze filled their passage and the blackness was almost total.
At the end of the tunnel there was a misty, hazy cavern. Distant towers and pillars faded in and out of sight. Moans and screams were perceived. Persephone clutched the black figure's arm, her face masked with confusion and excitement. She carefully inspected her surroundings.
There was a black shoreline where the water was as placid as smooth obsidian until the stallions' hooves disturbed it. A dark hooded figure leaned on an oar, standing in an ancient raft. No flesh or face was visible. The chariot was pulled along the bank to a shallow place where the horses trotted to a barely visible palace lit by soft torches on either side of the river.
Free of the water, the black figure snapped the reigns. The stallions stopped, the driver setting the leather strap down. He brought Persephone into his arms. Her face was flush and her mouth slightly open. Climbing down from the chariot, Persephone's hands rested against his chest. Her legs were caught up into his arms and he advanced to the crumbling marble face of a temple-like structure where they disappeared into the shadows.
The room was decorated with a canopy-like bed of fine black linen. Next to it was a banquet table filled with black fruits and a huge drinking bowl. To one side there was an oval body mirror, the glass surface rippling softly. Persephone glanced about as the dark figure carried her in, setting the girl on her feet.
The youthful maiden walked by the bed and gently touched it with her fingertips. She examined the table, folding her hands in front of her. Her eyes drifted to the rippling mirror and she stared curiously.
His voice was deep and sounded as if it wasn't used often. Persephone felt an excited jolt of fear when it reached her. "You are so quiet. Do you fear me?"
Persephone faced him with a shy smile. She ran her hands very slowly over her slender waist. "Why should I fear you if I do not know you?" Walking toward him, she subtly thrust her breasts outward. She was smiling fully. "Who are you?" She gently pulled his helmet off and gazed into the face of a snake. His eyes were as black as the caverns and his hair long and coal. His very face reflected the mood of this dismal place.
"I am Pluto."
This pleased Persephone. She smiled, feeling his bulging muscles under her soft hands. Persephone stared deeply into the snake's eyes. "Prince of Hell." She laughed and turned from him, standing before the mirror. It reflected a young naked woman holding her lover tightly who receded from her.
"You are feeling loss?"
She turned to him, remaining in front of the mirror. "No. Not really." Facing the strange mirror, Persephone saw a bride in white with many silken flowers covering her gown.
"You think this place beautiful?" He made the slightest gesture with his right arm and his snake-like eyes rolled upward slightly.
Without facing him, she replied, "It has an opulence all its own." She turned then to face the black clad god. "Why did you bring me here?"
Chuckling deeply, Pluto showed the slightest of smiles. He moved to a chair at the edge of the table and leaned his massive hands on its wooden back. "You are a vision of beauty. You stir feelings in me that I have not felt for an eternity."
Shyly, Persephone turned back to the mirror and saw the reflection of an unbridled orgy. A few dozen naked, shadowed figures were making passionate love. Faint moans were heard.
Pluto's face was pensive. "The mirror shows your naked soul."
Persephone continued to watch the mirror, even as the image distorted with ripples and faded. Trying not to sound blasé, she said, "It is pretty conceit. Wherever did--" She turned to him. He had stopped speaking. The Prince did not smile, moving to her. He pressed his lips to her's, his hard hands kneading her breasts under the white fabric.
When Pluto stepped away, the girl was left stunned and breathless. She spoke softly. "My body was burning inside." Persephone watched Pluto curiously.
His dark form moved back. A massive left arm extended toward the table. "Partake of my refreshments." Persephone followed. Turning to the bowl, the Prince carefully poured some dark liquid into a chalice and handed it to the girl. "Drink."
Persephone stared up at him, almost fearfully as she accepted the drink reluctantly. She took a sip from the chalice and a few seconds lapsed until she smiled, her face radiant. "This wine is the most refreshing drink that has ever touched my lips. There is nothing like it, not even in Olympus." She felt herself becoming giddy and danced slow circles around the chamber.
Pluto watched silently as she stopped before the mirror. The rippling surface dissolved into the passionate love making of a man and woman. The youthful goddess observed, sweat beading slightly on her forehead and in the spaces between her breasts. She sighed very lightly and a wide smile curved her red lips.
Without expression, the Prince spoke. "I will return to you in a season." Persephone turned to him suddenly, seeing him withdraw into the shadows. Her face hinted sadness. Taking another sip of the wine, Persephone was renewed with giddiness and the smile returned to her lips.
The laughing maidens danced in a circle, oblivious to the beautiful auburn haired figure clad in a robe of exotic flowers. She smiled, carrying a sickle. "Oh pretty young maidens, rejoicing in the warmth of Apollo's rays, have any of you seen my daughter, Persephone?"
One of them turned. "Your daughter requested to be alone, great Demeter. We have not seen her. But the forest was stirring with unknown activity."
Demeter's smile slowly faded and she appeared worried. Giving a quick nod, the goddess walked away from the circle of girls. She entered the forest. Towering trees let in shafts of bright sunlight and green branches hung over the ground. Demeter's head turned from side to side. "Persephone! Daughter, where are you? It has been hours since you last spoke to me. If you are still displeased with me, then we should talk. Do not force me to have the very Earth herself reveal you to me." A breeze lifted her skirts of flowers and her auburn hair flowed behind her.
The brilliant orange-red glow came from within the golden chariot pulled by twelve fiery white stallions whose manes and tails billowed out behind them. With a snap of the reigns every few seconds, the muscular figure in a white toga kept the horses on course. Behind him was the burning golden disk of the sun. From this altitude, the landscape below was reduced to fields dotted with mountains and cities, the world encompassed by the impassable ocean. Demeter slid in next to him and his head snapped to the side. "Fair Earth goddess Demeter, what brings you so far over the clouds and Olympus' peak to my cart? What is it that you seek?"
"Apollo, I came to ask you if you have seen anything unusual in your journeys today."
"Such as?" the sun-god asked curiously.
"My daughter Persephone is missing," Demeter explained. "Did you see her or what happened to her?"
"She was by the forest with her attendants. She called out to me, desiring sexual favors and bared her thigh to me."
"I am appalled!" Demeter snapped harshly. "How dare you talk of my daughter in that way!"
"I cannot say that which is not true. As for her whereabouts, this I also know."
"Where?" Demeter urgently pressed. "Do not be so cruel as to keep this from me."
"Persephone was taken upon a black chariot and swallowed in the Earth," Apollo said simply. Demeter's face betrayed her shock. She tried to speak, however, the goddess' voice failed her.
Strolling through her chamber, Persephone dipped the chalice into the bowl of wine that never emptied. She looked at the assortment of food on the banquet table which included black apples, pomegranates and bloated dates. She walked by, closing her eyes, sampling the air, humming softly.
Twirling around, she toyed with the lace of her gown and then stripped it off, tossing it away. She sipped more of the fine black wine and set it on the far end of the table. Sobering, Persephone clasped her hands over her shoulders, getting a chill. "My Prince, where have you gone?" Her voice was pleading. "Why haven't you returned to me in all of these days? Have I upset you? I long to be in your arms." She fell to the bed on her back.
Taking up the chalice, Persephone drank more wine. Standing, she moved to a closet and found what appeared to be hundreds of fine gowns. "My love, have you left these as gifts for me?"
Selecting a black gown, Persephone stood before the shimmering mirror's surface. She saw a young blonde woman dancing and shedding her clothes. Then she shed skin and flesh until she was nothing more than a crackling whirl of bones. Persephone stared at the image a moment with a shocked expression and took up a silken red dress with low cut breasts and no back.
The image in the mirror showed a man tied to the ground while two women kissed him. They licked and bit him. His faint groans reached Persephone. Blood spotted his skin. The sexual escalations grew more bizarre than those previous until nothing was left save bloody shreds of flesh and bone. She remained at the rim of the mirror. "The orgy of hot devourment. A wild folly of hunger. I am beginning to understand these strange images."
Persephone slowly gyrated. Her left arm rose up to her forehead and the right reached into the moist spaces between her breasts. As if realizing what she was doing, Persephone's expression sobered and she stood straight.
"I am tired of these gowns," the young goddess announced. "And it is hard to bore me." Persephone took up her goblet and drank. Her eyes slowly closed and her warm smile returned as she collapsed on her bed. "I'll dream of you, my Princely lover," she said softly. "Especially when you come to me in the shadows and bring me kisses as hot as liquid fire."
As an omnipotent, immortal being, Persephone was well aware that she was dreaming. The dream wasn't one created by random thoughts held together by images. It was being given to her by another. Thinking it may be her lover, the mystery intrigued Persephone.
The place she trod was bare stone, leading up to a castle on the peak of a mountain. Sharp crags flanked the path. Towers of sharp stone spired up to sky as red as blood.
Reaching the castle's gate, Persephone saw a moat of bright yellow lava. Fire belched up from great bubbles. Tortured screams reached her ears as her eyes followed the glowing circle. Twisted human bodies were immersed in the molten rock, writhing and burning.
Echoing with a tremendous thud, the gate slammed against the stone before the goddess. She peered into the red corridor. Slowly, she entered, looking at the high archways built in a cathedral-like manner. In the shadows, Persephone saw mutilated human forms crucified to the stone walls. Others were propped onto lances. The stench of blood and decay overwhelmed her.
The end of the corridor widened into a huge red chamber. The polished floors were marble and garnet as red as dried blood. At its center stood a figure wearing armor not unlike her lover's. Persephone knew this wasn't Pluto and felt a tinge of fear. "Who are you to bring me here?" she spoke forcefully. "Do you know not who I am?"
"Silence foolish girl," the raspy voice emitted from behind his helmet. It was hissing, like boiling blood, much more dangerous than the Prince of Hell. "Dose not my palace fill you with the excitement of Pluto's?" the hissing voice asked. "Could you not find pleasure here?"
Persephone timidly looked around the bloody walls. Pillars formed from mangled figures held up stoned carved bodies filled with expressions of horror and pain. "The place you walk is that of the moment of death," the voice said to Persephone, directly behind her. "From whence you hail, misery is eternal. Here, pain is but a fleeting moment."
Persephone kept her back to him until he heavily strode to his throne. The young goddess felt repulsed as she saw him sit on an empty husk, a cushion of human flesh. His skin was covered in dried blood and streams of dried sweat. "Like all the lords and ladies of Olympus, you disgust me, Ares," Persephone said savagely. "Your thirst for war is never quenched and you reek of death. Show the wisdom of your sister Athena!"
"Enough!" Ares shouted, his voice full and bellowing. "I did not bring you here to be talked to in such a manner." His words echoed through the halls. Leaning back, his red eyes pierced her from behind his helmet. "Is it such a terrible thing to drink of blood?" The soft hissing had returned. "Is it different than Pluto's domain? After all, you seem to have chosen him for your mate." Ares' words had a visible impact on her. "Could you not love me?"
"You are untamed brutality."
Aries chuckled deeply. "And you are lust unbridled." He rose, pacing around her. "Be my queen and I will show you passion likened only to that of death!"
She cowered, her gentle form trembling. "Will you not sit with me in glory?" Ares was tender. "When Apollo claims the throne of Olympus, the will of the gods will no longer pertain to men. They will follow the Nameless One. I will remain in power because man is but a beast."
Staring deeply into her, Ares cupped his hands and spread them apart. Images unfolded before her. Much like those in her chamber mirror, Persephone found them curious. In one, she saw thousands of men on horses charging at each other while machines of thunder caused the ground to explode. Dirt rained from the sky. The next showed great metallic birds dropping fire onto cities far larger than any she was acquainted with. Still another portrayed a great mushroom of red fire hurling itself into the sky. "Wars are determined to the end of history," Ares hissed. "Glory of war is eternal. Does death hold this quality?"
"I have seen enough," Persephone snapped, turning away.
Ares slowly lowered his hands, the future images vanishing. He nodded slightly. "Go then. See for yourself what you will find in Pluto's finite kingdom. The realm of the living is as vast as the universe. Choose damnation, if you wish. Or choose everlasting purpose." Persephone gazed into Ares' red eyes, sensing his desperation.
Demeter ran across the grassy field, passing lines of trees. At times, she trampled through streams of water. Behind her, foliage she passed turned brown and died. Flowers wilted and browned while tree leaves turned crisp with color and became brittle. Her face was streaked with tears.
Above, clouds tumbled on themselves until every trace of blue was blocked by gray. Snows began to fall, covering everything in a thick blanket of smothering white.
Sobbing, panting, Demeter stopped and kneeled to the ground. Fierce icy winds blew from behind as the greenery continued to die in the accumulating snow. "Where is my daughter?" she weeped. "I demand she be returned to me."
Before her, a shimmering, transparent face floated. White hair and a long flowing beard were nearly invisible in the snow. "Goddess of the Earth, you are neglecting the world of men. Why is this?"
Looking at the face, Demeter replied, "I have learned that my daughter is being held captive in the Earth. I will neglect my duties of fertility until she is released."
"Men die. They cry out to you to show mercy," the kindly face said.
"Let them die. I will not have pity for them until I have Persephone back. I demand that you have her released. You are the king of the gods. Surely, you can bring my daughter back to me."
"It is not as easy as that."
Demeter's face was contorted with surprise. "But you are king! All must obey you." The goddess stopped then, silent with thought. "Unless you have had a hand in this. Great Zeus, what have you done?"
"I promised your daughter's hand in marriage to my brother who rules the Underworld."
"You had no right to do that!" Demeter was clearly enraged. "How dare you decide what is best for Persephone. I am her mother. I should have a hand in her destiny. You bring her back to me."
"What if she has found love there?" Zeus asked gently.
Demeter laughed. "The very thought is frivolous."
"And what of Pluto's part? Persephone was a gift to him."
"Would he not want men to thrive so that his kingdom will be fuller? If I neglect the Earth, men will die and bear no more. He will have far fewer subjects to rule than if my daughter is released."
Zeus allowed a moment of silence to pass before speaking. "I will send Mercury to see you safely to Pluto's domain. But if Persephone has taken food there, then there she must remain." Demeter nodded reluctantly and stood in the snow.
Persephone walked alone in the near blackness. Behind her were black buildings and pillars, barely visible. Tiny points of fire light were her only reference points. Black shadows swooped slightly into view before they too dissolved away.
Persephone held her goblet and drank her wine heartily. She followed a shore line as she walked through Hell Proper. Charon used his oar to stop his raft along the shore where hoards of naked semi-transparent souls clustered about. Some were calm, others shouted and fought. There were moans and crying children. Faintly heard were tortured screams, whip cracks and clanking chains.
Cloaked Charon held out a fleshless hand to the souls nearest his raft. Souls boarding handed him a silver coin before taking a seat. Persephone watched from a bank of trees near the water. She smiled as she held her cup up and then spit into the blackness. "Doomed, foolish souls of so little faith," she called out loudly.
The crowds of souls look at the white goddess. Some stared in question while others in lust as they fondled themselves, men and women alike. "You understand so little about the grand scheme of things. Do you know what lies beyond the Styx and grim Charon?" Her eyebrows arced up. "There lies bitter cold and fire, whips and chains. And the only comfort from burning thirst is the blood you suck from your tongues as you gnaw in hunger."
Persephone walked swiftly away, faint glimmers of light catching her bare legs. She followed a path filled with sharp stones and jagged boulders on either side that concealed caves. Persephone skipped along, sipping her wine until she stopped at the low rumble of an animal growling.
A gigantic three-headed dog walked into her view, dwarfing her. All three heads snapped and growled, saliva and blood dripping from its sharp teeth. Persephone laughed. "Cerberus, wouldn't you like to catch an escaping soul and devour it? You whose three heads languish at Hell's gates?" Until then, she had been smiling. Now she made a low, growling type of voice. "Thou art nothing but gluttony incarnate." Persephone skipped by Cerberus. Cerberus tried to follow and snapped at the goddess even though his chains prevented him.
Persephone drank from her chalice, walking toward a river of fire. Embedded in the flames were twisting, writhing human figures. There were muffled cries over the deafening roar of flames. Persephone extended her hands, pulling them slightly away from each other. A path was created in the flames which allowed her to pass unharmed before sealing itself.
Approaching a huge wooden door, Persephone brushed strands of hair back. Screams came from behind. She lifted her left hand to push it aside. Flames and wild, agonized screams accompanied several wooden wheels, all turning very fast, humans strapped to them. Some were old, others young. Persephone stood near a burning wheel with an ancient looking man strapped to it. He screamed louder than all of the others and his wheel spun the fastest. "Poor Ixion, strapped to your flaming torture wheel, do you grow hot and dizzy as I do?" Persephone exaggerated her dizziness by placing the back of her hand to her left cheek and then to her forehead. Her eyes closed and she walked out.
Persephone walked along a courtyard outside of Pluto's palace. There were dark trees and flowers. Faintly heard distant cries of the damned mingled with faint rumbles of thunder. She was near a huge marble fountain, sculpted so that large animal mouths allowed the flow of water. There was a line of forty-nine young women at the top, each carrying two huge vases, one on each shoulder. The lead girl poured her water into the sieve and then went for more.
At the base of the fountain, Persephone looked up at the line of girls. "Unhappy Danaides, fill the sieve with water for all eternity and dream of drinking of it; or my wine." Her goblet raised, Persephone took a gulp of the liquid. She walked along a stone path past a series of small trees, stopping in front of an ancient one. Gnarly branches dissolved into the blackness. She smiled. "More wine!" she shouted.
An age old man was bound to the tree. Lush fruits fell before his face and he stood waist deep in water. As he tried to reach for fruit, a wind carried it up out of his reach. When he tried to bend for a drink, the water receded from his tongue.
Persephone was joined by a black shadow bearing her drinking bowl. It filled her cup and left. She turned her sights on the tormented man. "Your parched lips wish to receive this or any nourishment, don't they Tantalus?"
The old man extended his arms to her. Persephone deliberately dumped her wine into the water surrounding Tantalus. She then dipped her right toe in, smiling. Tantalus bent, trying to drink, the water again fleeing him.
Persephone made her way up a mountain side, beyond Pluto's palace, careful to find footing, leaning on rocks to help support herself. Tormented cries and thunder grew louder. With a flash of lightning, she spotted a man on the mountain side pushing a huge boulder upward. His face strained and was stained with sweat. His body was naked and well muscled, scratched and covered with blood. He grunted and panted heavily, nearing the top of his peak. Persephone sat on a rock, watching intently. "You weaken Sisyphus. Push your boulder harder!" she barked. "Harder!"
Sisyphus pushed with all his strength, his feet slipping from under him. He fell to the side and the boulder descended back into a deep, jagged canyon of shadows. Sisyphus beat his fists on the ground and waved them in the air at something above, unseen.
Persephone laughed. "Back to your feet wretch! Return to your boulder and again attempt to vainly complete your task." Drinking more wine, she stood and followed a path dotted with caves. She heard moans and gasps to her left and gazed inward.
There was a naked semi-transparent soul in the cave with his arms bound up to the ceiling in chains. His genitals swelled abnormally large as a series of young women lay naked before him, gyrating and fingering themselves, licking their lips and running their hands up and down his bare thighs.
His penis swelled and his face was contorted, strained with sweat and exhaustion. His eyes rolled back and his mouth hung open as he gasped, his face pale from exertion, trying to pull free of his bonds.
Persephone stared at him and began to mimicking the souls tormenting the man. She used her right hand to expose her breasts and then slowly striped, laying back on the rocky ground with her legs spread as far as they would. She leaned forward on her breasts and rolled, kicking her feet in the air.
The tormented figure's eyes bulged and his penis swelled until it looked as if it might explode. Persephone flipped hair over her head and stared at the man sumptuously. "Gaze upon me Priapus. Let your abnormal genitals swell with burden, knowing you cannot reach me. I have not even exposed myself in this manner to my lover. Consider yourself privileged to have looked upon a goddess."
Priapus twisted violently in his chains, his weighted genitals larger still. His face was a mask of rage and sweat flew from his head and face as he turned. He bellowed but was not received by Persephone. She smiled, pulling her garments back on, teasing Priapus. "All souls long to be with me. All of you in the caves; even in tortured states here in Hell."
Persephone walked along a mountain pass leading up to a lofty peak. Lightning flashed wildly at times and torrents of hot rain fell. Looking below, countless fires blazed and crazed screams of madness drifted up. Persephone stopped short of the peak, gazing upward.
A handsome man was chained to the mountain side, drenched in rain, also naked. His abdomen was torn open, fleshy shreds hanging loose. Blood covered his lower body. Vultures flew in and nipped at the wound, ripping pieces of flesh off as he screamed. Their claws opened new wounds and then they flew away so more could come to feast.
Persephone bellowed with laughter, raising the goblet up and drinking. "Such is the punishment for those who would give fire to men." The tormented figure wailed as more of his innards were ripped away. "Do you dare displease the gods again, Prometheus?"
Her gaze drifted further up. Higher than all of the mountains in Hell, a last one stood; the mammoth shape of a Titan. Atlas held the sky on his shoulders, forever burdened with the weight of the universe. "Would you side with the gods of Olympus if you had a chance to change history, Atlas?" Persephone called out.
From the top of the Titan's head, shadowed demons carried two men and threw them into the pit. Persephone could barely contain her joy. "Never again will you take Pegasus to Olympus, Bellerphon. Such is the price of your pride! Many are doomed for seeking the quickest way to immortality! Nor will poor Daedalus allow his son Icarus to fly so close to the sun!" The bodies fell past her and she watched them smack against bare rocks, falling into the depths of Hell, further down than even Sisyphus' boulder. The goddess began climbing down. Prometheus bellowed in a clap of thunder.
Walking along the main path back to Pluto's palace, Persephone, in her near drunken state, flirted with black winged demons as they paused from chasing a soul doomed to punishment. Returning to her chamber in the palace, Persephone entered, drinking, and lay on her bed. "Hell is not pleasant but an instructive place. And how long have I been here? I know not. There are no hourglasses or clock candles or sun to separate morning from night. I have seen all here. Am I to waste away in boredom?"
Her mirror rippled suddenly and a long black shadow fell across her. Pluto entered the chamber, walking slowly toward her. "Have you tired of Hell already?" Joining her on the bed, Pluto lay close to Persephone.
She began breathing deeply. "I have taken the grand tour of your kingdom." She toyed with his black armor. "I am but a wanderer here and I find I have not an unwelcome taste for the brutal. Punishment is nothing to me. I have never been punished or faulted for anything because I am the daughter of a goddess." Her voice became slow and sensuous. "I ache for games I cannot play alone."
"Are Hell's pleasures not temptations?" Pluto asked. "Or the temptations not its pleasures?"
"You please me. And I would fain please you." Pluto stroked her hair and striped her with confidence under his massive form. He then rested on his knees, exposing himself. "You are far larger than even poor Priapus." There was a seldom seen smile on the dark god's face and he fell on her.
Pluto kissed Persephone's neck. Her mouth opened with excited pants. "You truly are a Prince."
Pluto stopped kissing her and looked down on her soft face. "Oh little princess, I was not mistaken in you."
They made passionate love, groaning and panting until a red stain covered the entire sheet. Persephone conceded in exhaustion. Her hand reached for her goblet and she brought it to her lips. She swallowed with satisfaction, placing it aside, sitting and looking at her lover. "What is this drink? It is so delicious that I have not once eaten in all the time I have been here."
Pluto watched the girl with curiosity. "It comes from Hell's most secret distillery."
"Then I will go there."
"You will go where I tell you and nowhere else."
Her mouth formed words but there was a thudding noise. The chamber door to which Persephone turned was thrust open and two figures entered. First was a young man with a staff in his right hand and a helmet with wings as well as wings on his sandals. The second was a woman with long curly auburn hair and a well shaped figure covered in dozens of varying species of flowers. Her expression was stern as she gazed at the pair, holding her sickle.
The young man stared with favor at Persephone. The young goddess noted it and smiled, cupping her breasts. She then coyly smiled at her mother.
"Isn't this a sight!" Demeter said angrily. "I have come here from Olympus to demand your release and I find you sporting like a common slut!"
Persephone smirked. "She is mine now," Pluto responded.
"She is not! She is nothing but a silly bitchlet who needs a hard hand." Demeter saw the young man staring at Persephone. "Don't smile upon her in that way Mercury! She is pert enough already!
"Do not seek to direct me in my own place," Pluto warned. "You are in Hell, Demeter; remember it."
Demeter's expression softened after Pluto's sizzling threat.
"I do remember. Persephone, you get dressed."
"I am not coming," Persephone announced.
"What?" Demeter was clearly surprised.
"I am not coming," Persephone repeated defiantly. "Why should I leave when I can rule here? I am a goddess and a princess. Why should I have to wait until the next generation of gods rises on Olympus to gain my inheritance?"
Demeter wore the expression of surprise and swung her sickle back and forth. "I have searched for you till the Earth itself lies riven with my seeking; till mortals ply their dying crops with the paltry rain of their tears. They call out to me, begging me to show pity. But all my pity was for you, my lost child. When at last I discovered the abode of your captivity, I went to Zeus himself to demand your release."
"And what did he say?" Pluto asked with interest.
"He said she must return home with me."
"Unless young Persephone has taken food here in the Underworld," Mercury added quickly. "If so, she must stay for thus the Fates make law."
Persephone rose from her bed. She strode to the table and picked up a pomegranate. Demeter panicked. "No!" She lunged forward but Persephone bit into the pomegranate before Demeter slapped it away. Demeter gazed with fear at her daughter. Persephone's lips were moist and curved with a smile.
Fine marble pillars and well polished floors made Pluto stand out in sharp contrast against the white because of his black armor. Persephone stood to his right, holding his arm. Demeter was alone, further to Pluto's right. All three stared ahead.
A huge throne bathed in blue-white light was occupied by a white haired figure, relaxed, gazing down at the three. His face showed the wisdom of the ages. He wore a fine white toga and his form seemed to glow with the power of the sun. "I have heard testimony in this matter from all of you and from Mercury," Zeus began. "Apollo also spoke on your behalf, Demeter." Demeter offered a slight nod.
"Is there anything else that any of you would like to add before I pass judgment?" the luminous god asked.
"It is my right to become a queen now," Persephone spoke. "I have tasted food from the abode of the dead. The Fates have also rendered their law in this dispute. It is their decision that I must remain in the Underworld. I have chosen my mate. I should be allowed to remain with him." She pulled Pluto's arm slightly closer. Pluto was a black tower above her, as patient as a reptile.
"Do not listen to the words of this silly girl," Demeter pleaded. "She knows not of what she speaks. She is but a child. She has yet to learn all of the universe's powers. She cannot possibly understand what she is doing to herself now, asking to be confined in damnation with the wretched mortals in Hell." Demeter turned to her daughter then. "Please, I beseech you to look at what you are doing."
"This is what I want, mother," Persephone said convincingly.
"Very well," Zeus spoke, "since it is the law of the Fates that young Persephone remain in Hell, thus I rule it so." Persephone smiled and leaned her head on Pluto's arm. Demeter gasped, her face marked with terror. Zeus raised his right hand to stop an onslaught of protests. "However, since she was taken to the Underworld, I will make a provision that will allow Persephone to leave."
Persephone's smile faded and Pluto's expression became stern. "Young Persephone took one single bite of food in the Underworld," Zeus continued. "She swallowed six seeds of the fruit that she took. It is my ruling that she remain in the Underworld for one month for every seed that she ate and for the other six, she is free to roam the Earth."
Demeter was enraged. "What?! Zeus, how could you be so cruel? She is but a child. Pluto does not love her. He simply lusts for pleasures he can no longer have because we gods of Olympus find him repulsive. Persephone is only fascinated in him because I forbade her any god or man until she reached maturity."
"I have finalized this matter, Demeter," Zeus said sternly.
"So be it then," the goddess snapped. "You have ruled. But it does not mean that I have to be happy with this ruling. And if Persephone is above being punished for this, then heed my words when I say that the Earth shall." Demeter turned to Persephone. "For the six months that my daughter spends in Hell with this demon, I will not disburse the gifts to the Earth that make her fertile. For six months, let the Earth shiver and die in cold. And when she returns, and only then, I will return to my task of keeping the Earth alive. Let the suffering of the Earth be on your conscience, Persephone. Let mankind know that it is your fault. You have betrayed me and I will never forgive you for that!" Persephone's expression was placid as her mother spoke. She listened and then turned to Zeus after Demeter finished.
"Let it be done," was Zeus' final rendering.
Four figures stood at the edge of the dark forests that bordered Hell. Beyond lay greenery and yellow sunshine. Pluto embraced Persephone as Demeter and Mercury awaited. They remained at the edge of Hell. Already, the Earth was becoming green with Demeter's rejoicing.
"Six months; one for every seed you swallowed," Pluto recited. "Half a year and back to me you will come to such black rejoicings as Hell has never seen."
Persephone kissed him and she slowly followed her mother into the brilliance of the green forest which swallowed her up weeks before. Stopping near the stream, Persephone waited until Demeter and Mercury were out of her sight. She then stared down at her reflection.
"Six months," she said. "I will not pout for you my Prince. For I live in two worlds after all. For six months, I will be Queen. For the other six months, I will be in the land of those living. And who is to say that I may not have more than one love? Mortals are eager to lay with the daughter of a goddess. And a certain god has his eye on me. I will still have my cravings fulfilled."
Into her palm, Persephone spit out the six seeds. "It is fortunate that I only got six seeds in one hasty bite; or that I did not choose another fruit. Otherwise, I would be deprived of my pleasures." Persephone smiled, tossing the seeds away.
By
Rob Astor © 1993 - 2004 by Rob Astor
Author's Note: This story contains scenes of graphic violence and sexual explicity which may not be suitable for all readers.
The marble image came alive,
Began to moan and plead
She drank my burning kisses up
With ravenous thirst and greed.
She drank the breath from out my breast,
She fed lust without pause;
She pressed me tight, and tore and rent
My body with her claws.
- Excerpt from the forward of Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine, 1839
Lush forests bordered the open green field. The constant chatter of birds and noises of other forest animals were subtle. Babbling waters of a gentle brook splashed around well eroded rocks. Near its bank, a beautiful young woman lay on her side in the soft grass amidst a bed of fresh spring violets. Her tender, youthful form was covered in the flowing white robes of a toga, her coal hair cascading in waves along her shoulders.
Nearby, a group of young maidens were dancing. Their faces were radiant with youth and girlish pleasure. Giggling and laughing rose from their group. One looked toward the girl laying among the violets. "Persephone! Come! Come and join us!"
"Yes!" called a second. "Come and gather the blooms spread for us by the hand of the goddess your mother!"
The girls broke their merry circle and ran through the field toward roses, glads and daisies. Persephone turned to watch them leave. Her face was sobered with an expression hinting displeasure. "Go on. Go away! You silly girls. Your thin, high voices are scattered and as annoying as a cage of magpies! Go and leave me alone."
Turning back, Persephone saw her reflection in a calm part of the stream. She stared at her vibrant face and dipped her finger into the water, distorting the image. Gazing at the violets around her, Persephone found their fragrance not at all pleasing.
Laying on her back, the young maiden raised her skirt to expose her bare thigh. "Oh Apollo, god of the sun, how I wish you could please me as you please mortals with warmth and music," she said in a sensuous voice. Her tone changed then, again hinting her displeasure. "But my mother would not allow it."
Her eyes dropped to the violets. "My mother!" she spat. "She would keep me a babe in swaddling clothes forever, if she could." She cupped her breasts and slowly slid her hands down to her hips. Her voice was soothing then. "She cannot appreciate such a small waist and heavy breasts." She took a violet and crushed it in her tiny hand and swatted at those remaining.
The shrill giggles of her attendants again reached her ears. Agitation was clearly etched into her features as she turned toward them. "I told you to go away!" the youthful goddess snapped.
Their laughter faded as they receded, heading Persephone's wishes. Over them, a breeze gusted across the field. As it intensified, Persephone gazed across the river. She noted the trees were perfectly motionless. Even the violets around her were undisturbed. Still, the gust became more powerful.
Persephone glanced from side to side in question. Her maidens were no longer in the field. Animals were no longer making their usual happy sounds. The breeze was fading but nothing stirred. Persephone brushed strands of long black hair from her face, curiously looking about. The goddess slowly realized she was isolated.
At the edge of the forest, a crack formed in the dirt. Loose gravel fell away as the crack gradually opened into a chasm, splitting like cracking thunder. From within the gorge, four black stallions burst fourth laced with streamers of black fire, pulling an iron chariot whose single passenger was clad in ancient black armor and a helmet with a plume of black fire and a billowing cape darker than midnight. The hoof beats echoed through the trees like rolling thunder, throbbing with a sense of urgency.
Slowly standing, Persephone stared into the trees where the thundering enveloped every living thing. She was timid, yet alert.
The fiery steeds galloped into her view. Wild streamers of black fire blew behind them like the wind blowing their manes. Swiftly approaching, the stallions trampled the violets. The black figure pulled on the reigns, halting their advance. Persephone was shivering and smiling, wringing her soft hands before her. Her mouth started to form words.
The black figure swept an arm out and an invisible force pulled Persephone up to him where his arm clasped her waist, hoisting the goddess into the chariot beside him. Persephone stared into the night black helmet, trying to read anything, her mouth still trying to form words. He stared at her youthful face for long moments.
Snapping the reigns, the stallions lunged forward, following a path leading deep into the woods. Persephone continued to watch the black figure and then was aware of the forest rushing by. She saw the deep hole in the ground and the stallions pulled them in with the speed of lightning. The driver was silently intent to lead the fiery horses.
Persephone leaned closer to the black figure as the light dimmed. She glanced to the side a few times, ducking as roots and dark branches reached out to sting her. An unnatural haze filled their passage and the blackness was almost total.
At the end of the tunnel there was a misty, hazy cavern. Distant towers and pillars faded in and out of sight. Moans and screams were perceived. Persephone clutched the black figure's arm, her face masked with confusion and excitement. She carefully inspected her surroundings.
There was a black shoreline where the water was as placid as smooth obsidian until the stallions' hooves disturbed it. A dark hooded figure leaned on an oar, standing in an ancient raft. No flesh or face was visible. The chariot was pulled along the bank to a shallow place where the horses trotted to a barely visible palace lit by soft torches on either side of the river.
Free of the water, the black figure snapped the reigns. The stallions stopped, the driver setting the leather strap down. He brought Persephone into his arms. Her face was flush and her mouth slightly open. Climbing down from the chariot, Persephone's hands rested against his chest. Her legs were caught up into his arms and he advanced to the crumbling marble face of a temple-like structure where they disappeared into the shadows.
The room was decorated with a canopy-like bed of fine black linen. Next to it was a banquet table filled with black fruits and a huge drinking bowl. To one side there was an oval body mirror, the glass surface rippling softly. Persephone glanced about as the dark figure carried her in, setting the girl on her feet.
The youthful maiden walked by the bed and gently touched it with her fingertips. She examined the table, folding her hands in front of her. Her eyes drifted to the rippling mirror and she stared curiously.
His voice was deep and sounded as if it wasn't used often. Persephone felt an excited jolt of fear when it reached her. "You are so quiet. Do you fear me?"
Persephone faced him with a shy smile. She ran her hands very slowly over her slender waist. "Why should I fear you if I do not know you?" Walking toward him, she subtly thrust her breasts outward. She was smiling fully. "Who are you?" She gently pulled his helmet off and gazed into the face of a snake. His eyes were as black as the caverns and his hair long and coal. His very face reflected the mood of this dismal place.
"I am Pluto."
This pleased Persephone. She smiled, feeling his bulging muscles under her soft hands. Persephone stared deeply into the snake's eyes. "Prince of Hell." She laughed and turned from him, standing before the mirror. It reflected a young naked woman holding her lover tightly who receded from her.
"You are feeling loss?"
She turned to him, remaining in front of the mirror. "No. Not really." Facing the strange mirror, Persephone saw a bride in white with many silken flowers covering her gown.
"You think this place beautiful?" He made the slightest gesture with his right arm and his snake-like eyes rolled upward slightly.
Without facing him, she replied, "It has an opulence all its own." She turned then to face the black clad god. "Why did you bring me here?"
Chuckling deeply, Pluto showed the slightest of smiles. He moved to a chair at the edge of the table and leaned his massive hands on its wooden back. "You are a vision of beauty. You stir feelings in me that I have not felt for an eternity."
Shyly, Persephone turned back to the mirror and saw the reflection of an unbridled orgy. A few dozen naked, shadowed figures were making passionate love. Faint moans were heard.
Pluto's face was pensive. "The mirror shows your naked soul."
Persephone continued to watch the mirror, even as the image distorted with ripples and faded. Trying not to sound blasé, she said, "It is pretty conceit. Wherever did--" She turned to him. He had stopped speaking. The Prince did not smile, moving to her. He pressed his lips to her's, his hard hands kneading her breasts under the white fabric.
When Pluto stepped away, the girl was left stunned and breathless. She spoke softly. "My body was burning inside." Persephone watched Pluto curiously.
His dark form moved back. A massive left arm extended toward the table. "Partake of my refreshments." Persephone followed. Turning to the bowl, the Prince carefully poured some dark liquid into a chalice and handed it to the girl. "Drink."
Persephone stared up at him, almost fearfully as she accepted the drink reluctantly. She took a sip from the chalice and a few seconds lapsed until she smiled, her face radiant. "This wine is the most refreshing drink that has ever touched my lips. There is nothing like it, not even in Olympus." She felt herself becoming giddy and danced slow circles around the chamber.
Pluto watched silently as she stopped before the mirror. The rippling surface dissolved into the passionate love making of a man and woman. The youthful goddess observed, sweat beading slightly on her forehead and in the spaces between her breasts. She sighed very lightly and a wide smile curved her red lips.
Without expression, the Prince spoke. "I will return to you in a season." Persephone turned to him suddenly, seeing him withdraw into the shadows. Her face hinted sadness. Taking another sip of the wine, Persephone was renewed with giddiness and the smile returned to her lips.
The laughing maidens danced in a circle, oblivious to the beautiful auburn haired figure clad in a robe of exotic flowers. She smiled, carrying a sickle. "Oh pretty young maidens, rejoicing in the warmth of Apollo's rays, have any of you seen my daughter, Persephone?"
One of them turned. "Your daughter requested to be alone, great Demeter. We have not seen her. But the forest was stirring with unknown activity."
Demeter's smile slowly faded and she appeared worried. Giving a quick nod, the goddess walked away from the circle of girls. She entered the forest. Towering trees let in shafts of bright sunlight and green branches hung over the ground. Demeter's head turned from side to side. "Persephone! Daughter, where are you? It has been hours since you last spoke to me. If you are still displeased with me, then we should talk. Do not force me to have the very Earth herself reveal you to me." A breeze lifted her skirts of flowers and her auburn hair flowed behind her.
The brilliant orange-red glow came from within the golden chariot pulled by twelve fiery white stallions whose manes and tails billowed out behind them. With a snap of the reigns every few seconds, the muscular figure in a white toga kept the horses on course. Behind him was the burning golden disk of the sun. From this altitude, the landscape below was reduced to fields dotted with mountains and cities, the world encompassed by the impassable ocean. Demeter slid in next to him and his head snapped to the side. "Fair Earth goddess Demeter, what brings you so far over the clouds and Olympus' peak to my cart? What is it that you seek?"
"Apollo, I came to ask you if you have seen anything unusual in your journeys today."
"Such as?" the sun-god asked curiously.
"My daughter Persephone is missing," Demeter explained. "Did you see her or what happened to her?"
"She was by the forest with her attendants. She called out to me, desiring sexual favors and bared her thigh to me."
"I am appalled!" Demeter snapped harshly. "How dare you talk of my daughter in that way!"
"I cannot say that which is not true. As for her whereabouts, this I also know."
"Where?" Demeter urgently pressed. "Do not be so cruel as to keep this from me."
"Persephone was taken upon a black chariot and swallowed in the Earth," Apollo said simply. Demeter's face betrayed her shock. She tried to speak, however, the goddess' voice failed her.
Strolling through her chamber, Persephone dipped the chalice into the bowl of wine that never emptied. She looked at the assortment of food on the banquet table which included black apples, pomegranates and bloated dates. She walked by, closing her eyes, sampling the air, humming softly.
Twirling around, she toyed with the lace of her gown and then stripped it off, tossing it away. She sipped more of the fine black wine and set it on the far end of the table. Sobering, Persephone clasped her hands over her shoulders, getting a chill. "My Prince, where have you gone?" Her voice was pleading. "Why haven't you returned to me in all of these days? Have I upset you? I long to be in your arms." She fell to the bed on her back.
Taking up the chalice, Persephone drank more wine. Standing, she moved to a closet and found what appeared to be hundreds of fine gowns. "My love, have you left these as gifts for me?"
Selecting a black gown, Persephone stood before the shimmering mirror's surface. She saw a young blonde woman dancing and shedding her clothes. Then she shed skin and flesh until she was nothing more than a crackling whirl of bones. Persephone stared at the image a moment with a shocked expression and took up a silken red dress with low cut breasts and no back.
The image in the mirror showed a man tied to the ground while two women kissed him. They licked and bit him. His faint groans reached Persephone. Blood spotted his skin. The sexual escalations grew more bizarre than those previous until nothing was left save bloody shreds of flesh and bone. She remained at the rim of the mirror. "The orgy of hot devourment. A wild folly of hunger. I am beginning to understand these strange images."
Persephone slowly gyrated. Her left arm rose up to her forehead and the right reached into the moist spaces between her breasts. As if realizing what she was doing, Persephone's expression sobered and she stood straight.
"I am tired of these gowns," the young goddess announced. "And it is hard to bore me." Persephone took up her goblet and drank. Her eyes slowly closed and her warm smile returned as she collapsed on her bed. "I'll dream of you, my Princely lover," she said softly. "Especially when you come to me in the shadows and bring me kisses as hot as liquid fire."
As an omnipotent, immortal being, Persephone was well aware that she was dreaming. The dream wasn't one created by random thoughts held together by images. It was being given to her by another. Thinking it may be her lover, the mystery intrigued Persephone.
The place she trod was bare stone, leading up to a castle on the peak of a mountain. Sharp crags flanked the path. Towers of sharp stone spired up to sky as red as blood.
Reaching the castle's gate, Persephone saw a moat of bright yellow lava. Fire belched up from great bubbles. Tortured screams reached her ears as her eyes followed the glowing circle. Twisted human bodies were immersed in the molten rock, writhing and burning.
Echoing with a tremendous thud, the gate slammed against the stone before the goddess. She peered into the red corridor. Slowly, she entered, looking at the high archways built in a cathedral-like manner. In the shadows, Persephone saw mutilated human forms crucified to the stone walls. Others were propped onto lances. The stench of blood and decay overwhelmed her.
The end of the corridor widened into a huge red chamber. The polished floors were marble and garnet as red as dried blood. At its center stood a figure wearing armor not unlike her lover's. Persephone knew this wasn't Pluto and felt a tinge of fear. "Who are you to bring me here?" she spoke forcefully. "Do you know not who I am?"
"Silence foolish girl," the raspy voice emitted from behind his helmet. It was hissing, like boiling blood, much more dangerous than the Prince of Hell. "Dose not my palace fill you with the excitement of Pluto's?" the hissing voice asked. "Could you not find pleasure here?"
Persephone timidly looked around the bloody walls. Pillars formed from mangled figures held up stoned carved bodies filled with expressions of horror and pain. "The place you walk is that of the moment of death," the voice said to Persephone, directly behind her. "From whence you hail, misery is eternal. Here, pain is but a fleeting moment."
Persephone kept her back to him until he heavily strode to his throne. The young goddess felt repulsed as she saw him sit on an empty husk, a cushion of human flesh. His skin was covered in dried blood and streams of dried sweat. "Like all the lords and ladies of Olympus, you disgust me, Ares," Persephone said savagely. "Your thirst for war is never quenched and you reek of death. Show the wisdom of your sister Athena!"
"Enough!" Ares shouted, his voice full and bellowing. "I did not bring you here to be talked to in such a manner." His words echoed through the halls. Leaning back, his red eyes pierced her from behind his helmet. "Is it such a terrible thing to drink of blood?" The soft hissing had returned. "Is it different than Pluto's domain? After all, you seem to have chosen him for your mate." Ares' words had a visible impact on her. "Could you not love me?"
"You are untamed brutality."
Aries chuckled deeply. "And you are lust unbridled." He rose, pacing around her. "Be my queen and I will show you passion likened only to that of death!"
She cowered, her gentle form trembling. "Will you not sit with me in glory?" Ares was tender. "When Apollo claims the throne of Olympus, the will of the gods will no longer pertain to men. They will follow the Nameless One. I will remain in power because man is but a beast."
Staring deeply into her, Ares cupped his hands and spread them apart. Images unfolded before her. Much like those in her chamber mirror, Persephone found them curious. In one, she saw thousands of men on horses charging at each other while machines of thunder caused the ground to explode. Dirt rained from the sky. The next showed great metallic birds dropping fire onto cities far larger than any she was acquainted with. Still another portrayed a great mushroom of red fire hurling itself into the sky. "Wars are determined to the end of history," Ares hissed. "Glory of war is eternal. Does death hold this quality?"
"I have seen enough," Persephone snapped, turning away.
Ares slowly lowered his hands, the future images vanishing. He nodded slightly. "Go then. See for yourself what you will find in Pluto's finite kingdom. The realm of the living is as vast as the universe. Choose damnation, if you wish. Or choose everlasting purpose." Persephone gazed into Ares' red eyes, sensing his desperation.
Demeter ran across the grassy field, passing lines of trees. At times, she trampled through streams of water. Behind her, foliage she passed turned brown and died. Flowers wilted and browned while tree leaves turned crisp with color and became brittle. Her face was streaked with tears.
Above, clouds tumbled on themselves until every trace of blue was blocked by gray. Snows began to fall, covering everything in a thick blanket of smothering white.
Sobbing, panting, Demeter stopped and kneeled to the ground. Fierce icy winds blew from behind as the greenery continued to die in the accumulating snow. "Where is my daughter?" she weeped. "I demand she be returned to me."
Before her, a shimmering, transparent face floated. White hair and a long flowing beard were nearly invisible in the snow. "Goddess of the Earth, you are neglecting the world of men. Why is this?"
Looking at the face, Demeter replied, "I have learned that my daughter is being held captive in the Earth. I will neglect my duties of fertility until she is released."
"Men die. They cry out to you to show mercy," the kindly face said.
"Let them die. I will not have pity for them until I have Persephone back. I demand that you have her released. You are the king of the gods. Surely, you can bring my daughter back to me."
"It is not as easy as that."
Demeter's face was contorted with surprise. "But you are king! All must obey you." The goddess stopped then, silent with thought. "Unless you have had a hand in this. Great Zeus, what have you done?"
"I promised your daughter's hand in marriage to my brother who rules the Underworld."
"You had no right to do that!" Demeter was clearly enraged. "How dare you decide what is best for Persephone. I am her mother. I should have a hand in her destiny. You bring her back to me."
"What if she has found love there?" Zeus asked gently.
Demeter laughed. "The very thought is frivolous."
"And what of Pluto's part? Persephone was a gift to him."
"Would he not want men to thrive so that his kingdom will be fuller? If I neglect the Earth, men will die and bear no more. He will have far fewer subjects to rule than if my daughter is released."
Zeus allowed a moment of silence to pass before speaking. "I will send Mercury to see you safely to Pluto's domain. But if Persephone has taken food there, then there she must remain." Demeter nodded reluctantly and stood in the snow.
Persephone walked alone in the near blackness. Behind her were black buildings and pillars, barely visible. Tiny points of fire light were her only reference points. Black shadows swooped slightly into view before they too dissolved away.
Persephone held her goblet and drank her wine heartily. She followed a shore line as she walked through Hell Proper. Charon used his oar to stop his raft along the shore where hoards of naked semi-transparent souls clustered about. Some were calm, others shouted and fought. There were moans and crying children. Faintly heard were tortured screams, whip cracks and clanking chains.
Cloaked Charon held out a fleshless hand to the souls nearest his raft. Souls boarding handed him a silver coin before taking a seat. Persephone watched from a bank of trees near the water. She smiled as she held her cup up and then spit into the blackness. "Doomed, foolish souls of so little faith," she called out loudly.
The crowds of souls look at the white goddess. Some stared in question while others in lust as they fondled themselves, men and women alike. "You understand so little about the grand scheme of things. Do you know what lies beyond the Styx and grim Charon?" Her eyebrows arced up. "There lies bitter cold and fire, whips and chains. And the only comfort from burning thirst is the blood you suck from your tongues as you gnaw in hunger."
Persephone walked swiftly away, faint glimmers of light catching her bare legs. She followed a path filled with sharp stones and jagged boulders on either side that concealed caves. Persephone skipped along, sipping her wine until she stopped at the low rumble of an animal growling.
A gigantic three-headed dog walked into her view, dwarfing her. All three heads snapped and growled, saliva and blood dripping from its sharp teeth. Persephone laughed. "Cerberus, wouldn't you like to catch an escaping soul and devour it? You whose three heads languish at Hell's gates?" Until then, she had been smiling. Now she made a low, growling type of voice. "Thou art nothing but gluttony incarnate." Persephone skipped by Cerberus. Cerberus tried to follow and snapped at the goddess even though his chains prevented him.
Persephone drank from her chalice, walking toward a river of fire. Embedded in the flames were twisting, writhing human figures. There were muffled cries over the deafening roar of flames. Persephone extended her hands, pulling them slightly away from each other. A path was created in the flames which allowed her to pass unharmed before sealing itself.
Approaching a huge wooden door, Persephone brushed strands of hair back. Screams came from behind. She lifted her left hand to push it aside. Flames and wild, agonized screams accompanied several wooden wheels, all turning very fast, humans strapped to them. Some were old, others young. Persephone stood near a burning wheel with an ancient looking man strapped to it. He screamed louder than all of the others and his wheel spun the fastest. "Poor Ixion, strapped to your flaming torture wheel, do you grow hot and dizzy as I do?" Persephone exaggerated her dizziness by placing the back of her hand to her left cheek and then to her forehead. Her eyes closed and she walked out.
Persephone walked along a courtyard outside of Pluto's palace. There were dark trees and flowers. Faintly heard distant cries of the damned mingled with faint rumbles of thunder. She was near a huge marble fountain, sculpted so that large animal mouths allowed the flow of water. There was a line of forty-nine young women at the top, each carrying two huge vases, one on each shoulder. The lead girl poured her water into the sieve and then went for more.
At the base of the fountain, Persephone looked up at the line of girls. "Unhappy Danaides, fill the sieve with water for all eternity and dream of drinking of it; or my wine." Her goblet raised, Persephone took a gulp of the liquid. She walked along a stone path past a series of small trees, stopping in front of an ancient one. Gnarly branches dissolved into the blackness. She smiled. "More wine!" she shouted.
An age old man was bound to the tree. Lush fruits fell before his face and he stood waist deep in water. As he tried to reach for fruit, a wind carried it up out of his reach. When he tried to bend for a drink, the water receded from his tongue.
Persephone was joined by a black shadow bearing her drinking bowl. It filled her cup and left. She turned her sights on the tormented man. "Your parched lips wish to receive this or any nourishment, don't they Tantalus?"
The old man extended his arms to her. Persephone deliberately dumped her wine into the water surrounding Tantalus. She then dipped her right toe in, smiling. Tantalus bent, trying to drink, the water again fleeing him.
Persephone made her way up a mountain side, beyond Pluto's palace, careful to find footing, leaning on rocks to help support herself. Tormented cries and thunder grew louder. With a flash of lightning, she spotted a man on the mountain side pushing a huge boulder upward. His face strained and was stained with sweat. His body was naked and well muscled, scratched and covered with blood. He grunted and panted heavily, nearing the top of his peak. Persephone sat on a rock, watching intently. "You weaken Sisyphus. Push your boulder harder!" she barked. "Harder!"
Sisyphus pushed with all his strength, his feet slipping from under him. He fell to the side and the boulder descended back into a deep, jagged canyon of shadows. Sisyphus beat his fists on the ground and waved them in the air at something above, unseen.
Persephone laughed. "Back to your feet wretch! Return to your boulder and again attempt to vainly complete your task." Drinking more wine, she stood and followed a path dotted with caves. She heard moans and gasps to her left and gazed inward.
There was a naked semi-transparent soul in the cave with his arms bound up to the ceiling in chains. His genitals swelled abnormally large as a series of young women lay naked before him, gyrating and fingering themselves, licking their lips and running their hands up and down his bare thighs.
His penis swelled and his face was contorted, strained with sweat and exhaustion. His eyes rolled back and his mouth hung open as he gasped, his face pale from exertion, trying to pull free of his bonds.
Persephone stared at him and began to mimicking the souls tormenting the man. She used her right hand to expose her breasts and then slowly striped, laying back on the rocky ground with her legs spread as far as they would. She leaned forward on her breasts and rolled, kicking her feet in the air.
The tormented figure's eyes bulged and his penis swelled until it looked as if it might explode. Persephone flipped hair over her head and stared at the man sumptuously. "Gaze upon me Priapus. Let your abnormal genitals swell with burden, knowing you cannot reach me. I have not even exposed myself in this manner to my lover. Consider yourself privileged to have looked upon a goddess."
Priapus twisted violently in his chains, his weighted genitals larger still. His face was a mask of rage and sweat flew from his head and face as he turned. He bellowed but was not received by Persephone. She smiled, pulling her garments back on, teasing Priapus. "All souls long to be with me. All of you in the caves; even in tortured states here in Hell."
Persephone walked along a mountain pass leading up to a lofty peak. Lightning flashed wildly at times and torrents of hot rain fell. Looking below, countless fires blazed and crazed screams of madness drifted up. Persephone stopped short of the peak, gazing upward.
A handsome man was chained to the mountain side, drenched in rain, also naked. His abdomen was torn open, fleshy shreds hanging loose. Blood covered his lower body. Vultures flew in and nipped at the wound, ripping pieces of flesh off as he screamed. Their claws opened new wounds and then they flew away so more could come to feast.
Persephone bellowed with laughter, raising the goblet up and drinking. "Such is the punishment for those who would give fire to men." The tormented figure wailed as more of his innards were ripped away. "Do you dare displease the gods again, Prometheus?"
Her gaze drifted further up. Higher than all of the mountains in Hell, a last one stood; the mammoth shape of a Titan. Atlas held the sky on his shoulders, forever burdened with the weight of the universe. "Would you side with the gods of Olympus if you had a chance to change history, Atlas?" Persephone called out.
From the top of the Titan's head, shadowed demons carried two men and threw them into the pit. Persephone could barely contain her joy. "Never again will you take Pegasus to Olympus, Bellerphon. Such is the price of your pride! Many are doomed for seeking the quickest way to immortality! Nor will poor Daedalus allow his son Icarus to fly so close to the sun!" The bodies fell past her and she watched them smack against bare rocks, falling into the depths of Hell, further down than even Sisyphus' boulder. The goddess began climbing down. Prometheus bellowed in a clap of thunder.
Walking along the main path back to Pluto's palace, Persephone, in her near drunken state, flirted with black winged demons as they paused from chasing a soul doomed to punishment. Returning to her chamber in the palace, Persephone entered, drinking, and lay on her bed. "Hell is not pleasant but an instructive place. And how long have I been here? I know not. There are no hourglasses or clock candles or sun to separate morning from night. I have seen all here. Am I to waste away in boredom?"
Her mirror rippled suddenly and a long black shadow fell across her. Pluto entered the chamber, walking slowly toward her. "Have you tired of Hell already?" Joining her on the bed, Pluto lay close to Persephone.
She began breathing deeply. "I have taken the grand tour of your kingdom." She toyed with his black armor. "I am but a wanderer here and I find I have not an unwelcome taste for the brutal. Punishment is nothing to me. I have never been punished or faulted for anything because I am the daughter of a goddess." Her voice became slow and sensuous. "I ache for games I cannot play alone."
"Are Hell's pleasures not temptations?" Pluto asked. "Or the temptations not its pleasures?"
"You please me. And I would fain please you." Pluto stroked her hair and striped her with confidence under his massive form. He then rested on his knees, exposing himself. "You are far larger than even poor Priapus." There was a seldom seen smile on the dark god's face and he fell on her.
Pluto kissed Persephone's neck. Her mouth opened with excited pants. "You truly are a Prince."
Pluto stopped kissing her and looked down on her soft face. "Oh little princess, I was not mistaken in you."
They made passionate love, groaning and panting until a red stain covered the entire sheet. Persephone conceded in exhaustion. Her hand reached for her goblet and she brought it to her lips. She swallowed with satisfaction, placing it aside, sitting and looking at her lover. "What is this drink? It is so delicious that I have not once eaten in all the time I have been here."
Pluto watched the girl with curiosity. "It comes from Hell's most secret distillery."
"Then I will go there."
"You will go where I tell you and nowhere else."
Her mouth formed words but there was a thudding noise. The chamber door to which Persephone turned was thrust open and two figures entered. First was a young man with a staff in his right hand and a helmet with wings as well as wings on his sandals. The second was a woman with long curly auburn hair and a well shaped figure covered in dozens of varying species of flowers. Her expression was stern as she gazed at the pair, holding her sickle.
The young man stared with favor at Persephone. The young goddess noted it and smiled, cupping her breasts. She then coyly smiled at her mother.
"Isn't this a sight!" Demeter said angrily. "I have come here from Olympus to demand your release and I find you sporting like a common slut!"
Persephone smirked. "She is mine now," Pluto responded.
"She is not! She is nothing but a silly bitchlet who needs a hard hand." Demeter saw the young man staring at Persephone. "Don't smile upon her in that way Mercury! She is pert enough already!
"Do not seek to direct me in my own place," Pluto warned. "You are in Hell, Demeter; remember it."
Demeter's expression softened after Pluto's sizzling threat.
"I do remember. Persephone, you get dressed."
"I am not coming," Persephone announced.
"What?" Demeter was clearly surprised.
"I am not coming," Persephone repeated defiantly. "Why should I leave when I can rule here? I am a goddess and a princess. Why should I have to wait until the next generation of gods rises on Olympus to gain my inheritance?"
Demeter wore the expression of surprise and swung her sickle back and forth. "I have searched for you till the Earth itself lies riven with my seeking; till mortals ply their dying crops with the paltry rain of their tears. They call out to me, begging me to show pity. But all my pity was for you, my lost child. When at last I discovered the abode of your captivity, I went to Zeus himself to demand your release."
"And what did he say?" Pluto asked with interest.
"He said she must return home with me."
"Unless young Persephone has taken food here in the Underworld," Mercury added quickly. "If so, she must stay for thus the Fates make law."
Persephone rose from her bed. She strode to the table and picked up a pomegranate. Demeter panicked. "No!" She lunged forward but Persephone bit into the pomegranate before Demeter slapped it away. Demeter gazed with fear at her daughter. Persephone's lips were moist and curved with a smile.
Fine marble pillars and well polished floors made Pluto stand out in sharp contrast against the white because of his black armor. Persephone stood to his right, holding his arm. Demeter was alone, further to Pluto's right. All three stared ahead.
A huge throne bathed in blue-white light was occupied by a white haired figure, relaxed, gazing down at the three. His face showed the wisdom of the ages. He wore a fine white toga and his form seemed to glow with the power of the sun. "I have heard testimony in this matter from all of you and from Mercury," Zeus began. "Apollo also spoke on your behalf, Demeter." Demeter offered a slight nod.
"Is there anything else that any of you would like to add before I pass judgment?" the luminous god asked.
"It is my right to become a queen now," Persephone spoke. "I have tasted food from the abode of the dead. The Fates have also rendered their law in this dispute. It is their decision that I must remain in the Underworld. I have chosen my mate. I should be allowed to remain with him." She pulled Pluto's arm slightly closer. Pluto was a black tower above her, as patient as a reptile.
"Do not listen to the words of this silly girl," Demeter pleaded. "She knows not of what she speaks. She is but a child. She has yet to learn all of the universe's powers. She cannot possibly understand what she is doing to herself now, asking to be confined in damnation with the wretched mortals in Hell." Demeter turned to her daughter then. "Please, I beseech you to look at what you are doing."
"This is what I want, mother," Persephone said convincingly.
"Very well," Zeus spoke, "since it is the law of the Fates that young Persephone remain in Hell, thus I rule it so." Persephone smiled and leaned her head on Pluto's arm. Demeter gasped, her face marked with terror. Zeus raised his right hand to stop an onslaught of protests. "However, since she was taken to the Underworld, I will make a provision that will allow Persephone to leave."
Persephone's smile faded and Pluto's expression became stern. "Young Persephone took one single bite of food in the Underworld," Zeus continued. "She swallowed six seeds of the fruit that she took. It is my ruling that she remain in the Underworld for one month for every seed that she ate and for the other six, she is free to roam the Earth."
Demeter was enraged. "What?! Zeus, how could you be so cruel? She is but a child. Pluto does not love her. He simply lusts for pleasures he can no longer have because we gods of Olympus find him repulsive. Persephone is only fascinated in him because I forbade her any god or man until she reached maturity."
"I have finalized this matter, Demeter," Zeus said sternly.
"So be it then," the goddess snapped. "You have ruled. But it does not mean that I have to be happy with this ruling. And if Persephone is above being punished for this, then heed my words when I say that the Earth shall." Demeter turned to Persephone. "For the six months that my daughter spends in Hell with this demon, I will not disburse the gifts to the Earth that make her fertile. For six months, let the Earth shiver and die in cold. And when she returns, and only then, I will return to my task of keeping the Earth alive. Let the suffering of the Earth be on your conscience, Persephone. Let mankind know that it is your fault. You have betrayed me and I will never forgive you for that!" Persephone's expression was placid as her mother spoke. She listened and then turned to Zeus after Demeter finished.
"Let it be done," was Zeus' final rendering.
Four figures stood at the edge of the dark forests that bordered Hell. Beyond lay greenery and yellow sunshine. Pluto embraced Persephone as Demeter and Mercury awaited. They remained at the edge of Hell. Already, the Earth was becoming green with Demeter's rejoicing.
"Six months; one for every seed you swallowed," Pluto recited. "Half a year and back to me you will come to such black rejoicings as Hell has never seen."
Persephone kissed him and she slowly followed her mother into the brilliance of the green forest which swallowed her up weeks before. Stopping near the stream, Persephone waited until Demeter and Mercury were out of her sight. She then stared down at her reflection.
"Six months," she said. "I will not pout for you my Prince. For I live in two worlds after all. For six months, I will be Queen. For the other six months, I will be in the land of those living. And who is to say that I may not have more than one love? Mortals are eager to lay with the daughter of a goddess. And a certain god has his eye on me. I will still have my cravings fulfilled."
Into her palm, Persephone spit out the six seeds. "It is fortunate that I only got six seeds in one hasty bite; or that I did not choose another fruit. Otherwise, I would be deprived of my pleasures." Persephone smiled, tossing the seeds away.