Minor editing again, I mispelt some words that weren't caught by Word and I added more. (8-30-08)

00

Persephone knew she should have never talked to that handsome man when she visited Olympus. She never would have landed herself into this mess if she hadn't.

000

Her mother had been asked to come to Olympus for questions as to why she was letting this one province have famine and its neighbor flourish. It was her first time to Olympus, and the place was nothing but spectacular. A white marble palace in a sea of clouds. Gods and goddesses of all colors, shapes, and sizes had gathered in the meeting hall to meet and greet each other. They all had their own rooms, their own wings, everything. However, not everyone lived in Olympus. Her mother and she lived in fields of flowers and grass where everything was perfect, warm, and sunny.

Her round blue eyes looked with nothing short of awe as she bowed and curtsied to every available person she passed. However, she steered clear of Zeus and Hera. Her mother had laid with Zeus and had her, which was a bit frightening, truth be told. And Hera, well… Hera hated her and every other illegitimate child Zeus had managed to make. And there were quite a few. She didn't understand how the man got every girl pregnant after one time, but that was beside the point.

Demeter lightly laid a hand on her only child's shoulder and looked down at her. She was plump, round, and nothing short of beautiful, despite her motherly features and stress wrinkles. She wore a beautiful green and gold gown while Persephone wore blue, to match her eyes. Both women had light brown hair in waves that were tied in ornate buns in their hair. Her mother had corn leaves threaded through her hair like ribbons and Persephone had ivy that dripped down the back.

Reaching the meeting room, Demeter lightly tucked a bang behind Persephone's ear, tapping her nose. "My sweet daughter, would you mind waiting for a bit while I go and talk with Zeus?" Persephone nodded lightly, making her way to sit on one of the chairs outside of the meeting room. At first the hallways were quiet and calm, but soon she could hear her mother's shrill voice on the other side of the double doors rise in anger as an argument brewed between Zeus and Demeter.

Persephone put her elbow onto her knee and propped her chin with her hand, quickly finding boredom at her doorstep. Sighing, she looked around and stood. She didn't see anyone around… Who would say she couldn't move around? She had to stretch her legs, that was all, no harm there.

Satisfied that no one would rat her out, Persephone began exploring Olympus. The wide hallways rolled into magnificent rooms and into even more hallways. Each room was more beautiful then the last, and she became entranced in the different paintings and tapestries.

After half an hour or so, Persephone decided it was time to head back and turned around, only to have hit a small snag.

She didn't remember how to get back.

00

Hades loathed leaving his kingdom. It meant he only had one place to go, and that was Olympus. And who was there? Family. Normally he didn't mind his family members, but at meetings such as these, he wanted to skip out altogether.

He'd come because he had a province of starving people dying, and it was Demeter's fault. However, the goddess herself was catching it from Zeus right at that moment, so his errand had now become pointless. However, the wary if not downright dirty looks had him sighing in agitation. And here he'd actually saved their lives at one point in time with Zeus.

Yawning into his hand, the dark lord leaned against the marble pillar as he waited in the main hallway off to the side. His black hair was full and thick, tied neatly at the nape of his nape with bangs on either side of his face. His silver like eyes were starting to droop in his boredom as he crossed his arms over his chest. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't always wear black. Today the tunic he wore was silver like his eyes and the cape around his throat a dark gray. He was tall, well over six feet, and pale. Spending years under ground could suck the color out of a person if they weren't too careful. As it was, the dying sunset was enough to make him squint.

The fluttering of wings alerted the adult to someone invading his personal space. And wouldn't you know it, he was right. Cracking open one silver orb, he looked to see Cupid hovering in front of him with a sly grin on his face. The teenage boy should really learn a hard lesson about messing with people's fates. But, then again, that was his duty, making people love or hate each other. His mother was in charge of the love department, and made sure that it stuck together. When Cupid continued to smile at him he opened both eyes and glared at the boy. He couldn't be older looking then a sixteen year old boy, yet here he was, centuries old. And still annoying.

"What can I do for you this fine afternoon?" his tone suggested he'd like nothing better then to avoid the teenager completely.

Cupid rocked back on his heels in mid air, shaking his head. "It's what I'm going to do for you, Lord Hades." Hades didn't like the sound of that. He straightened from the lounging posture and uncrossed his arms. He could still hear Demeter and Zeus screaming from down the hallway.

"I don't need nor want your help."

Cupid merely smiled, making Hades's eyes narrow further. Cupid drew his arrow and shot it before Hades even had time to blink or think about moving out of the way. The arrow pierced him right over his heart and he gasped out in pain before clutching the arrow's shaft. He pulled it out and jerked it, throwing it to the ground. However, the arrow's head was still inside of him. He pushed his shirt aside and saw the darkening bruise and angry red pierce mark on his flesh, but there was no hole, no blood, nothing. Hades looked at Cupid with so much hate and fury that Cupid was sure he was about to be ended.

"Now Hades, don't thank me just yet…"

Hade's eyes narrowed and he stumbled forward. He felt weak in the knees, as if he couldn't support himself. "What have you done, feather brain?!"

Cupid frowned, almost pouting. He here was, trying to help his great-great uncle, and he was getting yelled at! "You may look like a young man Lord Hades, but you sure act like an old one." This earned him another vehement glare and he gave a cheeky smile back. "The fates had declared that you will fall in love. Be warned, it's not going to be easy. In fact, it's going to be amazingly hard." He laughed, flying backwards when Hades took a swipe at him with his fist. "Oh, ho, ho! No, none of that now! She's just around the corner." He flitted off and Hades scowled, using the pillar for support.

Alright, he could do this. What did he know of Cupid's arrows? Hades thought for a moment before it hit him. You had to look at the person to fall in love. The first person you looked at of the opposite sex was the one you fell in love with. So, in figuring out the soft spot, Hades closed his eyes as his hands rubbed over his heart where it ached painfully. He was going to make sure Cupid couldn't fly or so much as move his arms when he caught that boy.

000

This was it, Persephone was sure it was it. Ducking through a doorway, she found herself back at the main entrance to Olympus, the only thing she did recognize. However, none of the gods or goddesses were around to ask for directions, and it bothered her how quiet the place had become.

Lifting her skirts, her bare feet whispered over the cold marble and she soon found herself shivering, despite the warm summer temperature. Was it really that freezing in here?? Was the North Wind in attendance as well?

Sighing, Persephone finally gave up after an hour of searching and went to lean against one of the pillars. What she wasn't expecting was to find someone leaning on the other side. She smiled in relief, recognizing the standoffish god. Her mother had warned her about Lord Hades before, told her so many awful stories, and said terrible things, that Persephone had come to believe them all as myths. Who could possibly make a man out to be such a terrible person? Determined too find her way back before her mother found out, her hand lightly touched his shoulder. "Excuse me, Lord Hades, but—"

Hades stiffened at the sound of the new voice and almost opened his eyes before tightening them and turning away. He scoffed quietly. "Leave."

Persephone frowned. She hadn't even said anything yet!! "Excuse me, but I just—"

Hades turned even more away from her and slid to the other side of the other pillar. Persephone followed him, huffing softly. "I just need directions to—"

Hades sighed in frustration and covered his face. "Would you just leave?!"

Persephone frowned, her lips turning into a pouting frown as her eyebrows drew further down. She may have been lower on the rank of dieties, but she hadn't done anything to tarnish herself that she shouldn't be treated with at least icy respect. Her temper at being so rudely dealt with ignited and she thought over what she could possibly say to make him look and help her. An insult perhaps? Yes, that would work. "No. I refuse to listen to a god who doesn't even have the courage to look at me, or help me when I've asked kindly!"

Her blatant refusal, and insult, had him opening his eyes to look at her in disbelief, and he realized belatedly that he'd made the mistake of looking at her.

Because now he knew that his life had been shot straight to hell.

000

Felt like a change.

R&R if you like, this is purely for my entertainment, but imput is always nice. What you'd like to see, what you'd hate to see, ect.

Lt. RaIQ