sopor (a. chase)

iv

It wasn't even morning yet when the daughter of Hades stepped into the shadows. She didn't say goodbye to anyone, she didn't see the point in it. Yes, her cousin and the daughter of Athena were very accommodating and Chiron was kind but the idea of saying a heartfelt goodbye and seeing the continuous worry in those grey eyes after revealing her plan was too overwhelming.

She didn't bother to look around when she walked out of the shadow. She read the books Annabeth gave her, and seeing the Central Park and New York in general was too much for her to handle at the moment. She remembered it as it used to be as if it was only yesterday. But the changes were too aggressive, too rough, too quick for her to simply look at without breaking down.

Instead, she followed the pull that she felt, until she arrived at the Door of Orpheus. With a small flute at ready, she played the tune and as the doors opened, she stepped in.

A wave of calmness enveloped her, just like her shadows did. This was her father's realm. His domain. Nothing could harm her there. Nothing changed there. Everything stayed the same. For the first time since waking up on the forest ground at Camp Half-Blood several days ago, she felt at peace.

As she stepped further down, she felt the souls, she heard the faint voices in her mind.

'Princess!'

'Welcome back, my lady.'

'Our princess!'

The Underworld was welcoming her, cheering for her. Warmth filled her heart as she listened to the voices.

She had to stop and look. She could see the Styx, circling around the realm. The souls roaming the Fields of Asphodel. The light coming from the Elysium. She could hear Cerberuses bark all the way from the main gate, and the sound of of gavel pounding from the Judgement pavilion. And in the distance, she could see her father's magnificent palace, built of glistering obsidian, towering between the Fields of Asphodel and the Fields of Punishment.

Home.

It was too far and she was away long enough. Instead of making her way all the way down and continuing on foot, she turned and stepped into the shadow once more. She was used to the technique, practising it since she was just a child, and could find her way through the void as if it was nothing. The shadows weren't draining her. They charged her and filled her with strength.

And soon, she stepped out of the void. Maybe she was out of practice, or maybe her heart longed for this destination more than her mind, but instead of the entrance hall inside the palace, she appeared in the middle of the garden.

She didn't realise how much she missed that beautiful garden. The glow of the subterranean trees, orange and neon lights, the multi-colored mushrooms, the pomegranate trees, the jewels and diamonds sticking from the grounds and clusters of black daffodils all around.

But one sight in particular made her freeze. A figure clad in a beautiful black dress sat on the obsidian bench under the pomegranate tree in the middle of the garden. Her hair was braided into a crown, and pinned to the back of her head and a few daffodil stems in her lap as her hands skillfully winned a hauntingly beautiful flower crown. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes.

Persephone.

She took a few steps forward, almost in a daze and didn't notice when she stepped on a branch, snapping it in two. The sound made Persephone look up from her work with a frown.

"Who dares to step into my garden?"

Lena gulped as she took more steps forward, finally coming into Persephone's line of sight. Once she did, she watched Persephone tense, her eyes fixed on the black-haired girl