Reversal [by TheSuperSass]

Chapter 4

The impatience of waiting to see Persephone between visits was nothing compared to the gnawing feeling in Hades' gut once she decided never to see him again. Now that people knew about it, it would be impossible to avoid being seen: after all, they were both oddities. Hades was rarely seen above, queen of a realm even immortals dreaded to think on. Persephone was rarely seen on Olympus, under the fierce protection of a sheltering mother on Earth. People would talk if either of them took a romantic interest; combined, it would be too irresistible a piece of gossip not to spread. She vowed to spare him the judgement of cruel tongues.

Hades tried to reason with herself: she had only seen him three times. It wasn't a relationship. But the more days past, the worse it felt, and the more she realized it wasn't nothing. The sound of her sister's haughty laughter echoed in her mind for days, reminding her that the hope of anything between them was ridiculous. She hated that her visit to Olympus had soured her last encounter with him; had she known that would be the last time she saw him, she might have gained closure of some kind.

Several times, she decided that was all that was needed to remedy the unhappiness that plagued her: closure. More than once Hades returned to the field unseen, but never built up the nerve to remove her helm. Just seeing him was enough to ease the knot in her stomach without needing the pain of a goodbye, but the relief faded quickly. Within days her restlessness returned, and she found herself back above, an invisible spectator. She tried not to flatter herself into thinking he was looking for her when he would stare out over the fields, his pale blue eyes searching and expectant. But when she watched him touch the smooth edges of the pomegranate pin she gave him, a sad look crossed his face. She realized this solution was selfish: she got to ease her mind while denying him peace of his.

Hades determined to see him one last time as a farewell and to stop making visits above. Too far away for him to see, she removed her helm, staring across the open plain of wild flowers. This place was beautiful, and she would miss it.

Meanwhile, up above them, Aphrodite squinted as Helios approached him, the bright beams of midday glowing off of her.

"Guess who's staring wistfully across a field of flowers?" she asked, her eyes shining with mischief.

Aphrodite leapt up from his seat; he had asked Helios to let him know if she saw Hades on Earth, convinced she would return to Persephone. In Zeus' palace, Hades' glance back at him told him all he needed to know: she saw Persephone's face when she looked at him, because that was who she favored. Whether Hades knew it or not, Persephone was somewhere in her heart.

"Eros," he called to his daughter, who perked up. "Come with us." He considered for a moment. "Bring the bow with you."

---

Eros groaned, having grown tired of the game of waiting and watching Hades from above.

"This is boring!" she whined. "Can we go?"

"Patience," Aphrodite chided, mussing up her hair. "She came all this way, she's bound to do something."

Eros peered back down at the field. Helios eyed her from behind as she leaned forward. She didn't consider herself someone who was attracted to women, but it was hard not to be tempted by the form of the young love goddess.

"She still hasn't moved! What a fascinating development!" she declared, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"She will," he insisted. "You know better than anyone that the ones who protest the most against their feelings fall the hardest to them."

Eros scoffed. "I'd make an exception for her. I talked to Hades at Zeus' palace last time, she's as dead inside as her kingdom is."

"I wouldn't be so sure..." he trailed off at his squinted at Hades' dark, still shape in the field.

Even Helios was starting to have doubts. They'd watched Hades stand out of sight across the field, not advancing towards Persephone, for quite awhile now. But Aphrodite resolved to stay. Despite Hades being infamously staid, he knew he saw a flash of something in her. No one, no matter how grave, was impervious to the sting of love, and he was willing to wait to prove it.

As he spoke the words, Hades finally stalked towards Persephone, whose back was turned. The three watched with anticipation as she was finally close enough to be seen, but as soon as Persephone turned, facing her direction, she suddenly vanished.

"What was that?" Eros demanded.

"Her helm," Helios answered her with a chuckle. "She panicked."

Aphrodite's eyes rapidly searched for her invisible form, feeling more justified than ever. Hades certainly felt something if she was hiding.

"Such a shame: the goddess of death, afraid of a little flower god," Helios tisked.

"What she needs is a push," Aphrodite declared.

Eros looked up to find both pairs of eyes on her.

"Me?" she asked, incredulous. "I wouldn't waste one of my arrows on her!" she protested. "Besides, I can't even see her!"

"Look!" Persephone's back had turned, and Hades had reappeared.

"Eros, shoot!" he insisted. "Before she disappears again!"

"I'm telling you it won't work on her--"

Hades began to turn away from him.

"Now, before she's it's too late!"

Eros rolled her eyes with a sigh. She pulled an arrow from her quiver, loaded her bow, and released. It was hasty, but Aphrodite didn't worry: she never missed. It struck her in the chest, and the three gods watched in suspense to see what the solemn Queen of the Underworld would do when struck by Eros' potent arrow.

---

Down in the field, Hades found herself uncharastically indecisive upon facing Persephone, torn between action and inaction. She had decided to abandon this plan, turning away and taking her helm into her hands to disappear from him forever, when a sharp pain pierced through her body.

Hades gasped, all the air suddenly gone from her lungs, dropping the helm and falling to one knee. She blinked hard with a wince, and when she looked up, her vision blurred.

Persephone's messy, wind tousled red hair, his broad tan frame, his soft blue eyes, and friendly, warm smile were the only thing she could see, clicking into sharp focus and filling her vision. Her heart pounded one long beat, so hard she thought it might burst from chest.

"Hades?" Persephone called out, a mix of confusion and happy surprise as he walked towards her.

Her skin electrified upon hearing her name out of his mouth. He halted, startled by the wild look in her eyes. Her mind flurried with sensory overload, and only one thought rose above them as her gaze locked on his form.

Make him yours.

Hades grabbed her helm and vanished, leaving Persephone standing barefoot, confused, and alone. He squinted across the field where she was standing. Before he could look any further, he felt a growing rumbling beneath his feet build louder and louder until a deafening crack shook the Earth, knocking him down. When he looked up towards the source of the sound, ears ringing, he saw four dark mares stampeding towards him at a frightening speed, carrying an empty golden chariot behind.

The flower god was crouched helpless, too shocked to move as the horses circled him, their hooves barely missing him as they thundered past him. He felt cold fingers pull at his tunic to bring him stumbling to his feet. The invisible hands yanked hard at his wrists, pulling him into the chariot. He gasped, nearly falling out of it, when Hades suddenly appeared in front of him, standing even in height to him.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he called over the rolling of the horses' hooves.

"I'm leaving here and never coming back," was her brusque, husky reply. Her crimson eyes flashed dark and feral as she regarded him. For the first time since he met her, he felt afraid. Her iron grip tightened around his wrist.

"And neither are you," she added darkly.

The horses lurched forward, causing him to cry out in surprise. He grabbed onto her to stop from falling as their barreled faster downward, the sun and the sky disappearing above them as they descended beneath the Earth.

From above, Helios, Aphrodite, and Eros watched in dumbstruck silence, mouths agape.