The Hidden Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 26: Thráfsmata

Previously:
Up here, she was a different kind of beautiful. More alive. Her dress still floated around her like smoke, but it was brightly colored. Her hair was lighter, almost golden, and her skin had a healthy amount of color to it. Out of all of it, her eyes were the most captivating. Being no longer washed out, they sparkled with many colors, which only made her smile look more mischievous.

"Would you join me for a picnic?" The goddess suddenly said. Before we had a chance to respond, we were sitting down on a red and white checkered blanket with a wicker basket and an assortment of foods surrounding us.

"How can we help you, Lady Persephone?" I asked, being as polite as I possibly could.

"I've heard it's more what I could do for you," Persephone said, as she delicately took a bite of a finger sandwich.

"From who?" Nico asked suspiciously.

I understood his caution, we didn't talk about the purpose of our quest with many people. Chiron and Rachel were really the only ones that knew other than the people present.

The goddess shrugged. "Around," she said evasively. She avoided eye contact with us, but I noticed she avoided looking at Nico specifically.

"You've been using Thanatos as a messenger between you and father, haven't you?" Nico said, folding his arms across his chest.

"No!" Persephone protested too eagerly. Then she ducked her head to hide the blush that dusted her cheeks. "He stopped coming when I called."

"Lady Persephone, you know he's not your messenger? He's got a very important job to do," Nico sighed.

"Yes, yes, to gather up the lost souls," Persephone waved her hand. "Most find their way on their own, you know. He used to come so that he had something to do but since you started looking for him, he's been ignoring me."

"Not all the time," Nico pointed out. "That's why we need to talk to him."

She sighed in resignation before picking a small glass bowl of ice cream up and slumped.

"I don't understand," Penny spoke up now. "How did she know we were looking for Thanatos?"

"Oh, dear, gods can hear when you say their name," Persephone giggled. "It's not often someone says the name of Thanatos unless you're me or Hades. So when he heard new voices speaking of him, let's say that he took notice."

"Names hold power," I threw in around the sandwich in my mouth.

"See?" Persephone gestured toward me with her spoon. "Be careful what names you use."

"How are you going to help us talk to Thanatos?" Nico asked, pulling us back on track.

"I know where he's going to be waiting for you," she smiled at the three of us as if it was some big secret.

"Let me guess," Nico put his head in his hands. "The Underworld."

"Nico, dear, how did you know that?" Despite her serious tone, the mischievous look in her eye remained.

"What do you want?" Nico's face was still hidden by his hands.

I looked from the goddess to my cousin in slight confusion. Obviously, there was some kind of understanding between them. He seemed to understand what was going on in this particular goddess' head more than I would have thought. Penny and I were content to sit back, eating away at the never ending picnic before us while we watched the two interact.

She was definitely a different person on the surface than in the Underworld. Down there, she was cold, and matched her overall look while she is more lively and chaotic up here. I suppose the transition made sense if you thought about it.