Temptations

Persephone-#1

Disclaimer!! This is a first draft, I will make more chapters and improve this. Criticism is welcome!

"Mother, just a couple minutes!" She shouted, her grip tightening on the railing of the balcony. She was tired of all of it, tired of being lonely, tired of being watched over  every second of the day. Her chestnut brown hair shifted slightly in the light breeze, probably a nosy Aurae checking out what was going on. Her stormy gray eyes looked at Demeter with a glint of defiance.

"No! I refuse, you can go to the fields with the nymphs!" Demeter shouted back, her glare making Persephone feel small. "Leave, Aurae, or I'll make you!" She shouted to the Aurae, and Persephone heard a small squeak of a girl before the breeze stopped. Demeter scoffed, continuing to snip at the rose bush.

She has the same brown hair, tied into a braided bun, and emerald green eyes. Her worry lines disappeared slightly as her face softened.

"Persephone, I want you to understand that I just want to be careful. You know what's out there: the chimera, the Gorgons, the Echidna, it's simply too dangerous for a little girl like you." She says, not paying attention as she snipped a little too much. She gasped before grabbing Persephone and holding her hand up to the bush a little too tightly.

"There are men that will do things to you, terrible things. I don't want that happening to you." She warned firmly, holding her hand as she grew the part of the bush back.

Persephone hesitated before responding, finally laying down her weapons. "Okay, mother." She mumbled softly, leaving promptly after the bush grew back.

The nymphs followed her as she walked outside, stalking close behind as she walked through the woods. It's a perfect day outside, the sun beautifully shining, flowers bloomed in the steps she took. She went over a small plan she made in her mind, one that probably wouldn't work.

"Hey, Leuce, Cyanê, there's a thing— no, no, never mind." She says, looking away.

"What, Kore?" Leuce asks, catching up next to her.

"Nah, it's stupid, never mind," she murmured wistfully

"What is it? I'll get it for you!" She says enthusiastically, before Cyanê joined in.

"No, I will, I will gain your favor." She says just as enthusiastically.

"Well, there's this flower, it's called the Gulibelim, but I can't find it." She said, feigning idiocy.

"Okay!" The nymphs said before dashing off, momentarily forgetting their main mission. It's like they don't use the space between their ears other than to gossip.

Persephone also took the chance to dash off in a random direction. Her footsteps were as light as feathers, barely touching the ground as she ran. In the distance, she saw a small cave, cold, dark and uninviting. The perfect place.

She slowed down, coming to a stop at its entrance. Small droplets of water dripped from the stalagmites, moss covering the flooring. The walls of the cave had etched drawings on there, telling stories of people going in and never coming out. Awesome.

"Kore! Kore?! Where are you?!" The nymphs cried, looking everywhere they could. She stepped into the cave carefully, feeling the moss covered rock under her feet. She couldn't help the excited smile on her face. The mossy floor felt weird under her feet, but it was a feeling she desired more than anything.

Her mom would never approve of this, traversing a cave by herself no less. She'd never let her have this much freedom.

The cave air felt moist, cold for once. It wasn't a perfect place to hide out, but she didn't expect the nymphs would come looking. The faint dripping of water was the only thing she could hear in the cave.  A shiver of excitement and fear went down her spine as she continued down.

The flowers that bloomed from her hair before quickly falling off glowed slightly in the darkness lit her path. The small green glow comforted her as her babysitters finally found her.

"Kore!" One of them shouted, her voice soft like a cloud. Persephone quickened her pace as she heard them shout for her.

The tunnel started going downward, causing the rocks to roll down with her. She tried to slow down, but the tumble of the rocks had another idea.

She tripped, tumbling down the tunnel, going faster with every passing moment. The stones dug into her skin like daggers, the smell of death etching closer and closer. It felt like every passing moment something was dragging her nearer, whether she wanted it or not.

The shout of the nymphs died down as pain racked her body. She could smell the potent stench of death coming from where she was going, the murmuring getting stronger. When she finally stopped, she fell out of a hole, into a group of ghostly looking people. They look stunned, their quiet murmurs having stopped as they stared. She looked up, her body scraped like she lost a fight with a bobcat. A man with blonde hair and blue eyes looked at her stunned, his petasos with wings stopping momentarily.

"Who're you? You're definitely not dead." He inquired, looking down. She noticed his running shoes with wings as well, floating at least a foot off the ground. He poked her with his caduceus, silently noting how she stayed solid. "How'd you get here? You aren't suppose to be here." He asks, crossing his arms, and the wings on his feet deactivated. He dropped to the ground, standing over her. He's wearing a gray sweatshirt, black sweat pants, his hair whisked back and away from his face.

She got over her shock and stood up, looking down at her now dirtied peplos, stained with dirt and some blood. She wiped the small rocks on her face and spoke. "I'm— I'm Persephone," she says, "goddess of spring and all that." She rubbed her arm, mentally banging her head on a wall.

The man looked at her strangely for a moment before speaking once more. "Who? Never mind, you should go with me, I gotta visit his place anyway."