Three Seeds

Epilogue

Three years later

***

Persephone and Hades stepped outside, hand in hand, on Earth again.

Demeter had started letting it thaw out in all of her excitement that Persephone would be visiting again. Persephone knew it would be perfect while she visited her mother, then it would stay that way for a while. Then, slowly, her mother would begin to miss her terribly and the Earth would begin its descent into the dead, snowy place it became. Once it neared time for Persephone to visit, the ground would thaw and the flowers would grow as they did now.

"Are you ready to see your family?" Hades asked.

"Yes. I'm going to miss you terribly," she complained.

"You'll see me in two weeks," he comforted her.

"Two very long weeks."

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

He halted and pulled her with him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head. "You make this so hard every year."

She sighed, her arms going around him. "You do, too."

He laughed, pulling away. "Me? I try to make it easier!"

She grinned. "That's why. I just love you so much."

He smiled tenderly, reaching for her hand again. He replied as they started walking. "As I love you."

Persephone was happy, even though they would be apart for two weeks. She would soon see her family, and she had him now. The sun warmed her skin and her hand fit just right in his.

She silently thanked her father for arranging her kidnapping.

She didn't know it at the time, but it was the best thing that could have ever happened to her.