A Thief and a Queen

Hades

“Hades” 

Of all the gods and goddesses in Olympia, Regina was an enigma. She did not cavort with the other gods and goddesses, eschewing their presence. Many whispered it was because the dark had taken her and she could not stand to be in the light for too long. Others believed she was jealous of how beloved the others. After all, who could love the goddess of death? 

            It was a question Regina herself pondered every day of her existence as Queen of the Underworld. The mortals who lived in Olympia would’ve been shocked to learn she chose this duty, a choice she had come to regret. She had made it when she was young and grief-stricken. Regina had fallen in love with a mortal, a young man who raised horses. He had found her offering an apple to one of his mares and offered to teach her to ride. She had accepted and as their lessons continued, they fell in love. 

            One day, they rode together as he worked to tame one of his new horses. His became spooked and threw him before Regina could help him reign the beast in. He had died in her arms. She made up her mind then and there to give up her dreams of becoming the goddess of agriculture and instead asked dominion over the land of the dead. Logos, the chief god who determined everyone’s roles in Olympia, begged her to reconsider. He had warned her that the Underworld was no place for her and that she belonged in sunlight and nature. “Love will come again,” he promised her. 

            Regina, though, was stubborn and foolish. She had insisted and he granted her wish. But she learned within hours of her new assignment that love between an immortal and a mortal still stood no chance in death. All she could do was watch Daniel’s spirit from afar and yearn for him. Over time, she sought him out less and less as the pain began to subside. It was replaced by an overwhelming sense of loneliness and she lost hope of ever falling in love or even having companionship. 

That was the real reason she avoided the other gods and goddesses. Regina watched as they fell in and out of love, throwing it away as if it were nothing. They cheated, they lied, they took what they wanted and yet the people still adored them. Yet she was the one they cursed, even more than the God of Mischief and Discord. They called her evil and a witch because she took their loved ones away. None of the mortals knew she understood their pain better than the other gods they prayed to. And none of the gods understood her or why she wasn’t as happy or optimistic as they were. So, she stayed away. 

***** 

She had been Queen of the Underworld for a few eons when she felt a familiar pull. It was the urge to nurture and so she planted a little garden near her large obsidian palace. She cared for the trees and they soon yielded fruit for her. Fruit only those who belonged to the world of the dead could eat and fruit that only satisfied the pull for a little bit. When it returned, she realized what she really wanted—a child. Regina often served as a proxy mother to the child spirits but they were not corporal. She couldn’t hold them, hug them or kiss them. They also were always reunited with their real mothers in the end and forgot her. She wanted someone who wouldn’t do that. But being who she was and what everyone thought of her, she doubted anyone—mortal or immortal—would lie with her. 

Brooding over the subject yet again, Regina didn’t notice she was at the edge of her realm until the sunlight hit her eyes. She shielded them as they adjusted from the murkiness of the Underworld. The forest that bordered her lands came into view and she watched as wood nymphs danced amongst the trees. She found them to be carefree creatures and envied them. Why couldn’t she dance like that? 

As she turned to head back into her dark domain, the spirit of her river called for her help. Someone had fallen in, it told her, an immortal child who could not swim. It was a river of death potent enough to defeat immortality in a grown god, let alone a child. Heart racing, Regina ran along the shore until she saw the small figure struggling against the powerful current. Se dipped her hand in the water, stilling the river before having it float the child over to her. He was breathing but unconscious. Regina searched for any sign of his parents but found no one. She had no choice but to take the child with her and wait for him to regain consciousness. Or perhaps she could contact one of the other gods, though she was loathe to do that.