Mother, let me tell you a secret
Your flowers always died in my hands
And I hated being the goddess of spring
Something you could never understand
And I know how you see me
Your broken, corrupted child of light
But mother, I wanted pomegranates...
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'Created to save the one I love, To keep him from the Heavens above. Although his hands are dripping with red, Covered in the blood of mortals struck dead, I would throw myself upon the pyre To keep him warm and stoke the fire. For crimson taints my fingertips Bringing pomegranate seeds to his lips.'
Giulia's words linger in Persephone's mind as she remembers that Aqua Tofana has an antidote. Placing a loving kiss on Hades' head, Persephone rushes to Miss Thornhill/ Laurel Gates' desk to grab the recipe book. She rushes back to Hades' side as she flicks through the book frantically.
"Oh, come on!" She pleads desperately, barely able to read the words on each page through the row of tears gathered on her lower lashes. Finally reaching the right page, her relief is short-lived as she discovers that the page with the instructions for making the antidote have been ripped out. "No, no, no, no, no!" She repeats as she searches wildly through the pages of the book for any other clues on what to do. It seems all hope is lost.
Blind with rage, she throws the book carelessly to one side and lowers her forehead to Hades' chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." She mumbles, her lips salty from the tears dribbling down her cheeks. She then hears a clink against the stone floor. Lifting her head, she finds the necklace she had secured around her neck gently tapping against the cold, hard ground. The red liquid sloshing inside the hidden vial catches her eye as her mind begins to whir. "Bringing pomegranate seeds to his lips." She mutters thoughtfully to herself. She wonders if Giulia passed the antidote from generation to generation concealed within the family heirloom.
With no time to lose, she removes the necklace and unscrews the pendant from the chain. She tilts Hades' head up by his chin as his body convulses beneath her. Then she pours the red liquid into his mouth and hopes for a miracle. With her hands cradling his cheeks, she scans his face for any sign of change.
"Come on, Hades." She whispers desperately, watching his eyes begin to flutter. Her eyes are blurred and her throat is raw. It's the most she's cried in years, and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon. He still isn't moving. She doesn't know what to do. Fresh tears are constantly replacing the ones already shed, creating a never-ending waterfall on her cheeks. "Please. You said you'd never leave me. I can't- I can't do it without you." Her breath feels like it's running away from her at a pace too fast for her to catch. As her chest rises and falls like crazy, Hades' seems to be doing the opposite. It slows down with each shuddering inhale until it is almost undetectable.
Persephone has never been so scared of losing something in her life, because nothing had ever meant as much to her as Hades has. She has so much to lose if she loses him. Her smile. Her laugh. Her heart. Her home. Everything. He calms her storm and fuels her fire. All her panic, anxiety and anger disappears with the sound of his voice and the feel of his hand slipping into hers. He taught her how to love herself for everything she is and everything she could strive to be. He gave her the confidence to do whatever the hell she wanted and not give a fuck about who was watching. Because why would she care when he is right there beside her, cheering her on every step of the way?
