Hades and Persephone—rulers of the dead

The God of the dead is not as cold hearted as you have been led to believe. How would I know? Because I'm Persephone, the wife of Hades, the only person, who knows the god of the dead well enough to tell you what he's really like, without his cold persona and hard uncaring exterior. He has a bad reputation, even among the other Olympians, because Zeus, my own father, and his brother, Poseidon can never turn down an opportunity to spread lies about other people. Well that is, when they aren't busy having affairs with other women or nymphs while their wives simmer in anger at home.

It is true that Hades and I first met when he kidnapped me. I had only seen glimpses of him before when I had left the secluded island on seldom special occasions with my mother. I first saw him when I was ten. I was still a bit of a child then and was more than half obscured by my mother's chiton. I still wasn't completely comfortable there when I was older. Hades had seemed mysterious and even dangerous even then. I was more than a little surprised when he caught me looking at him. I held his gaze defiantly until he looked away after giving me a small smile. I thought he looked better smiling, but he rarely did. My mother didn't take me too many parties on Olympus because I think she realized that Hades was less depressed and beside himself whenever I was around and she was far from liking it.

Later on when I asked Hades why, he said that I was different from the other Olympians and because of my fiery personality, even then, made him curious about Demeter's little Kore. He liked that even when I was that young I wasn't completely a shoe-in with the other gods, and I was shy so I didn't interact with many others, which made Hades feel not so alone anymore because he knew that he wasn't the only one who didn't really enjoy the parties. Even if I was a ten year old girl, who never even formally met him.

Anyway, on with the story, the correct and accurate version, of course. And as a heads up, my mother is like that anytime she has to deal with people she doesn't like, not just Hades in particular…

I saw a dark chariot with equally dark horses come bursting out of nowhere. I jumped in surprise, dropping my bouquet of flowers. When the dark rider guiding the chariot led the horses in my direction and started getting too close I began to back away into the trees. As the horses sped up I hurried my pace and turned around so I could see where I was running. When I looked back I saw the symbol of Hades on the chariot's side. My heart sped and I raced faster, trying to lose the chariot behind me. For a moment the hooves quieted and I thought that the chariot had stopped.

When I looked around it was gone. Then I heard the horses again, coming from my right. I gasped and began running again. The chariot was now parallel with me on the path. When I looked over to see the rider I saw the huge frame of the man, he was dressed in dark robes. I couldn't see his face, for it was in shadow. I hadn't realized that my pace had slowed while I was distracted and the chariot came closer. By the time I noticed that Hades (or who I thought was him) was close enough to grab me it was too late.

He grabbed me as his chariot came close enough and the horses ran out of the woods, heading back to the meadow that I had been chased from. A gaping hole opened up in the ground. The demonic looking horses galloped into the hole and any sense of gravity disappeared. The god's grip on my waist tightened as we flew down deeper. I screamed and screamed and screamed as the world above was sucked away from me. "Be quiet child, the nymphs will call for your mother soon enough."

In response I screamed even louder before he brought his other hand over my mouth to silence me.

"I told you to be quiet, I do not wish to harm you but if you force my hand I will silence you."

I cut off the scream, not wanting to force his hand.

"You shall now be called Persephone; Kore is the name of your childhood."

I did not speak, for I could not, but anger shot through my veins at my new name.