Lady of Life and Death: A Persephone Novel (On Hold)

v. (part b)

"Did you hear that Apollo got another one of his sister's followers with child?"

I looked up from my loom to glance at the young nymph that had spoken—Eustacia. I wondered how she had found out—nymphs were not allowed to leave my mother's grounds and information from the outside rarely made it in. It was possible Eustacia had snuck out however—young nymphs often made their way from the sanctuary to the outside to tryst with men.

Another nymph, Vasiliki, spoke, "Who?"

"I don't know. She has like, a million followers. How am I supposed to keep them all straight?"

Vasiliki sighed, "I meant which of his sisters did the pregnant woman follow? Apollo has dozens of sisters. Technichly, Persephone is Apollo's sister."

The room went silent. All eyes had shifted to me at Vasiliki's comment, wondering what I would do. Not only were they unfamiliar with my presence, but Vasiliki had said my name without addressing me properly. I could have her beaten and shunned for that.

I straightened. "Well, Eustacia, which sister was it?" I asked.

"It was Artemis," whispered the nymph as if her name was some dirty secret of the night.

Gasps filled the room as the goddess of the woman Apollo had gotten pregnant was revealed, along with murmurs of astonishment.

"Artemis? But her girls are so pious!"

"There must have been something that convinced her to act otherwise."

"Something long and thick, you mean!"

A fluttering of giggles ensued.

I sighed and went back to my loom. I had once been as giddy with gossip as they were, giggling secrets across the room, but my interest had faded as time passed. It was the same story with different names and different faces. Nothing really changed around here. Nothing really mattered.

I didn't get the chance to talk to my mother the day before. The nymphs had whisked me off and kept me accompanied without a moment to myself. Demeter had not been in her rooms when I had awoken and I soon found out that she had journeyed to another end of her territory, a trip that would take most of the day.

Now I sat in my rooms, surrounded by people I barely knew, waiting for my mother to come. I had to talk to her, had to convince her that Zeus was plotting something, had to get her to...

What?

I had to get her to do what?

No one could rebel against Zeus. It was known. Once, Hera, Poseidon, and Apollo had attempted a coup. Zeus was furious. He had stripped his brother and his son of their godhoods and bound them to work for a mortal king. And Hera...

Hera had been bound to the sky, her manacles golden and iron anvils bound to her ankles. I had heard her cries all the way from my mother's realm.

That was just what Zeus did to his favorites. What would he do to Demeter and me, who were not highly favored due to our distance from Olympus?

I couldn't think like that. My mother would find a way to save the mortals and save us from Zeus's wrath. I didn't let myself think any further on the matter.

Shifting in my seat, I again focused on my weaving. I brought the weft thread across the loom and moved the shed stick upward. I repeated the motion, And then again. Slowly, the sun crept across the room and a shimmering tapestry emerged.

It was simple enough. The piece was composed of only crossing purple and gold thread, creating an illusion of changing colors if viewed from different angles. I was capable of much more: I had trained with Athena in the years recovering from my capture. With her, I created stunning sunrises and shimmering seas.

Mother hadn't liked it when I showed those designs to her. "They will be perceived as favoritism for another god, darling, and we can't have that."

So it was flowers—and only flowers I could weave.

I hated weaving flowers. What was the point? I could create real flowers with the wave of my, why spend my time making fake ones? I would rather have something real for a fleeting amount of time than spend an eternity cherishing something fake.

Day bled into night. Still, I fought sleep. I had to speak with Demeter, even if it meant cornering her when she returned from a long day. 

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AN:

Hello!

I know it's been awhile, but I literally have had no time to battle my unrelenting writers block until now. I'm literally posting in the dead of night at my grandparent's house.

- A.M.

QOTD: What Taylor Swift song do you associate with Persephone? I don't know if it's because it came up on my playlist a few minutes ago, but I was thinking LWYMMD.