HATCHING A PLAN

"No!" Demeter screamed.

The Goddess of the Harvest sank into the plush, red sofa that she was sitting on, throwing her needle and emerald thread aside. Clenching her hands as she attempted to calm down, she scrunched her eyes closed and snapped them back open, trying to see whether or not she was dreaming.

To her dismay, she realised she was not.

Sighing angrily, she stood up straight and paced around her little cottage.

Stomping around her living room, she pushed a curtain aside and peered out of the window. Outside, the trees were decaying and frosting because of the cold climate. The ground was a sheet of ice, and the few strands of grass remaining were withering and dying. What mortals called "snowflakes" drifted slowly onto the ground and most dissolved into snow when they touched the ground.

And it was all because of him.

Hades, her older brother, and Demeter didn't get along much when they were young because Demeter was the deity of the Harvest and Hades was the King of the Underworld, and they were pretty much opposites, Demeter being the life-bringer and Hades being the death-bringer. And he dared take Demeter's only child away.

Persephone, the deity of vegetation and growth, was created in Demeter's womb. For ten months, she lay in her mother's womb and after that, she was born. Made from Demeter herself, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter was a beauty. Mortals sought after her russet, smooth hair and her golden eyes. Freckles dotted her face like flowers on fields, and her slender physique was irresistable to mortals.

But Demeter never let them touch her. Afraid that she would be tainted and corrupted by the mortals, Demeter used her every power to cast them away from Mount Olympus and inside a little cottage away from the busy bustle of the cities of Greece. Isolated in a large, merry field, Demeter and Persephone picked flowers and laughed together.

Those were happy times, Demeter reminisced bitterly.

Only about two hundred and fifty-six when she was kidnapped, Persephone apparently struggled with Hades for along time before a shocking thing happened.

She agreed to stay with him.

And three months after she agreed, Hermes came to Demeter's little cottage.

At first, when she opened the door to the cheeky, elf-faced blonde, she was afraid and suspicious of how Hermes knew of Persephone and her's whereabouts. She dismissed the thought later; after all, this was the god of messages and travelling.

Hermes, as bubbly as ever, smiled and immediately invited himself in. He rubbed himself warm because he was only wearing a thin, cotton chiton and some angel-winged sneakers.

"Ooh! It's cold, isn't it Demi?"

Demi? Demeter asked herself and raised an eyebrow at her stepson.

"Well, I won't call you Demeter, will I? I mean, it's a boring name. I have no idea what Kronos was thinking about, naming you 'Demeter'! Now, 'Hermes', that's a better name. Father does have a flair for talent!" Hermes smiled, kicking flying himself into the lounge and settling himself into a green armchair.

"He does, does he?"

Hermes nodded, "Well, let's get down to business! Lord Zeus has requested me to inform you, and every other deity I can find, that Lady Persephone and Lord Hades have declared marriage!"

"What?!" she spat, but the messenger took no notice.

"Their wedding will commence three weeks from now, and all deities are expected to attend! It will take place in Mount Olympus. That is all!" Hermes took on a dramatic pose, two arms spread out in a diagonal gesture.

Silence consumed the cottage, except for the pitter patter of snow hitting the window.

"I should go now, shouldn't I?" Hermes asked awkwardly.

"Yes, you should..." Demeter spat. "...before I morph you into a piece of barley." she added after Hermes had left.

Which led up to now, where Demeter was sitting in her plush sofa, thinking to herself. While entwining her fingers together, she had a stroke of sudden genius.

Frantically half-standing up, half-fumbling around, Demeter leaped to the door of her room and slammed it open. Not bothering to close the door, she quickly scanned the room for the bookshelf.

A slender, emerald bed lay gracefully in the center of the room. Mountains of peridot and white pillows piled onto each other with a jade blanket cloaking the pillows. White sheets lay limp on the sides of the bed.

It was a simple room; wallpapered green, a window with beige curtains, a carpeted floor and...aha! The bookshelf!

Wooden and grand, it stood proudly over all the other items in the room. Sturdy and panelled, only a few books actually lay in it. Its feet were curved and splendid and usually the bookshelf was the first thing that most people saw when they walked into the room.

Demeter attacked the bookshelf and urgently rummaged around the books, looking for the spell book.

"No...not that one...Oh." Demeter breathed and turned the small, copper-bound book in her hands. It was blue and black and was inscripted with black ink. Greek was literally written all over it, many other ancient languages spinning around dizzily.

Demeter stared at the book another time before whispering:

"Watch out, Hades," Demeter smiled, a rare thing to do in the winter season. "I'm bringing back τα πράσινα πλάσματα..."

Author's Note:

Ooh...what's Demeter up to now? And what's τα πράσινα πλάσματα? If you would like to guess, please review or PM me.

It's my first Greek Mythology fanfic, so I hope you like it! Please read and review!