a Queen of Butterflies

Chapter 11: A nymph tells us we're dumb

I stare at the world around me.

The view from this mountaintop is absolutely stunning and though I feel miserable I take in the world with growing joy.

It actually makes sense for the vegetation here to be magical. Persephone, goddess of spring is queen of the Underworld.

Except this doesn't feel like spring. This feels like summer, in a full-fledged heat wave.

"The Underworld is throwing a tantrum", a soft voice from behind us says, almost as if she can read my mind, "With winter solstice near, it wants its queen back. The Underworld is sad because she is gone, and so am I."

I look around and see a young woman sitting beside us. She has long hair the color of wheat and eyes that look like fresh-tilled soil. Nearly black, just like Thanatos' eyes, but, unlike Thanatos' eyes her eyes have a sort of greenish gleam to them.

She is definitely not human.

She is stroking the rock, almost as if she is trying to comfort a creature sleeping within.

"My name is Chloé", she starts, "and I'm a dryad, a nymph."

"Why are you here?" Lucas's guard which had dropped slightly during their trek up the mountain is back up immediately.

"Because I want to help you", Chloé tilts her head slightly and makes the ground around us bloom with fruit-bearing plants. She does it with seemingly no effort and I can't help but be impressed. Just like gods, nymphs are immortal -so long as their life source, in case of dryads a tree, remains untouched, they can live forever.

I wonder how old she must be to have collected this much power.

Matt looks at the nymph in awe, "How did you do that?"

"The question is sweetheart", the nymph returns, "how did you do that?" She gestures at the grapevine still curving around Matt's arm.

"We're demigods", Matt seems confused. Everyone is supposed to know that already.

"Yes", Chloé looks just as confused as we are, "I know that, but for as far as I know Demeter never had children with mortals."

"She didn't", Matt clarifies, "but I am a descendent of Demophon -a boy Demeter tried to make immortal."

"Ah, I see", the nymph looks puzzled, "Oh please, eat some of these fruits. I grew them just for you."

"They haven't been tampered with or anything, right?" Cal asks warily, "I know the food in the palace won't trap us in the Underworld."

The nymph answers the question Cal didn't ask, "These won't either. There is absolutely no food that can trap you in the Underworld", She smiles at us.

"But how did Persephone get trapped in the Underworld then?" I can't help but ask this because some things aren't quite adding up, "You know, after Hades kidnapped her?"

"Oh honey", Chloé is straight up laughing now, "That's just the version of the story Zeus decided to share. That's how he makes himself look good you know, by making others look worse."

"But what about Hades? I mean he got a bad reputation because of-"

"He doesn't care at all about his reputation", Chloé interrupts.

"What really happened then", Ada asks, clearly intrigued, "I mean, he kidnapped her. Why would she stay?"

"He didn't kidnap her either", Chloé clarifies, "If anybody would kidnap her then you'd have to be sorry for the kidnapper, not for her. She is a force of nature, she can not be contained. The Above world learned that the hard way - through six months of winter every year, again and again, until the end of times."

Matt raises one of his eyebrows, "What did happen then? 'Cause I don't know what's going on anymore."

"Hades never wanted to bring Persephone to his kingdom - after all, why would any lady want to visit a kingdom of fire and ashes? Persephone came to the Underworld voluntarily - because she wanted to see something other than the island her mother kept her on and after that she stayed because she fell in love with it's king." 

I am still looking out over the Underworld when I say, "So she went to the earth because she had to - because her mother, Demeter made everybody starve - and she went back to the Underworld because she was in love with Hades - both the kingdom and the god."

"No, not entirely", Chloé sighs and looks generally sad when she continues, "She did come back because she had no other choice - because she trapped herself."

I turn around on my heels but can't ask the question I want to ask because Giulia is faster, "Why would she do such a thing?! I mean, you made it look like she was very into freedom and stuff."

The blonde nymph is plucking at the grass, "She was... I mean is, because she isn't dead. She can't be." Her voice breaks

"With all due respect... miss", I'm not sure what to call the creature that not even looks younger than I am.

"Just say Chloé sweety, it's fine-"

"Yes", to be fair I don't care what I'm supposed to call this nymph because I'll likely never see her again anyways, "but you still haven't answered our question."

A faint smile tugs on Chloé's lips, "So curious you mortals, no patience whatsoever."

It is reminding me an awful lot of the conversation I had this morning with Hades.

I'm pretty sure she notices my annoyance because she quickly continues, "Because Demeter forbade any plants from growing in the absence of her daughter, Zeus forced Persephone to come back up - to live on top of the earth rather than below it. He simply enough ignored the fact that they were married and just dragged her back up - in a manner of speaking of course - and that went well for a little while. Persephone was clever and had no intent in becoming yet another Helen of Troy so she took peace with everything, but after maybe a century or two-"

I don't think I'm ever going to get used to how they treat decades like days.

"-she started to feel bad again and started longing for her husband below the surface of the earth. So clever, clever, clever Persephone concocted a little plan. She convinced her oh so great father to host the next winter solstice meeting in the Underwolrd and when the court of Olympos arrived she set her little scheme in motion.

She planted a tree - a pomegranate-tree - and cursed it. She and her little friend Hecate cursed the tree and when she took a bite out of one of those pomegranates she tied her life force to the Underworld - forcing her father to allow her to come back every once in a while, but, and this is where it gets weird, at the begining of the twenty-first century she went up and never came back down. The gods are still making sure the seasons are correct but without the goddess of springtime, it is more dificult. Humans have noticed the difference too."

"Climate change", Lucas mutters, "It's because of this."

Chloé looks happy, "Yes, at least partially, but some of the blame does lie with the humans, trust me."

I tilt my head slightly, "So she... dissapeared?"

"That's the problem", Chloé mutters, sadness glittering in her eyes, "no one truly knows"

She straightens up again, "Either way, I'm not quite supposed to interfere or anything, but are you sure this challenge is only meant to test your skills with a map? Just saying, if I would want to test the navigation skillsof a group of children I'd probably have them do it separately. Goodbye!" and with that the nymph vanishes into thin air.

"Oh no", Giulia moans, "Peter, can you show me your map." Peter complies and they both sigh heavily right before turning the maps over to us.

It finaly made sense why the two of them were squabbling over where exactly we were.

Those two maps are not identical. Not even close.