Hades and Persephone

Chapter 22

Persephone sat in the throne room next to Hades, watching him while he worked. He was currently going through prayers that had been sent to him: various requests from the living to curse other mortals, curse those who had died that they thought did them wrong in life, wishes to see dead relatives, loved ones wishing for their partners to be brought back to life, and so on and so forth. She hadn't really thought about what it meant to be the King of the Underworld. It seemed mostly like a lot of paperwork.

Hades noticed her watching and cleared his throat. "Perhaps you would like to help?"

She scurried over and sat on the arm of the throne, peering at the paper he held in his hands. The scroll would automatically update itself with any prayers that had been answered, as well as new prayers. Words scrawled themselves across the page and erased themselves just as fast.

"So what happens when you decide you want to follow through with someone's prayers?" she asked.

"Well," he began, "if it's a request to view a loved one again or bring them back to life I automatically ignore it. I refuse to let any of my subjects to leave. It's unnatural."

"That's a bit harsh."

"Not really. The point of humans having mortality is to teach them to appreciate life and the ones they are with. And if they do a good job in this life, they have the chance to be reborn. If, however, they squandered it and threw away this gift that we have given them, they will simply exist here as one of my subjects once they die."

"What about the souls of those who have done horrible deeds?" Persephone asked, leaning into his shoulder as she stared, mesmerized, at the paper.

"It is my duty to punish them as I see fit. However, sometimes Zeus or another of my siblings has other ideas for those souls and will inflict their own punishment on those souls."

Persephone looked at Hades. Their faces were inches apart. His eyes flashed to her lips before flicking back up to her eyes. He swallowed hard. 

"Could I do it?"

She watched as his face flushed and he leaned back away from her. His eyes roved around the room. "Well, uh --- I don't know. I mean --"

She raised an eyebrow. "I can't answer a prayer?"

His eyes grew wide and his mouth made an "o". "Of course you can!" He scanned the paper. "Here, you can do this one. It won't be too difficult."

"Making flowers grow on the grave of their beloved forever?"

He nodded his head. "It's perfect for you! There's flowers, and dead people . . . it's perfect for your first prayer."

She looked at him. He was leaning forward and smiling encouragingly. He seemed to genuinely think this was a good idea. So, she just smiled, nodded and stood up from her perch.

"Sounds great, Hades. I'll get right on that."

He smile suddenly disappeared. "Oh, but you'll have to go to the world above."

She cocked her head. "Is that such a bad thing? I'll be coming right back."

"Yes, but your mother. And Apollo. He may not be after you anymore but I would feel better if he didn't find out you had been hiding here this whole time."

"Ah, yes." She tapped a finger on her lip. "Well, why don't you come with me? You can supervise my answer to this man's prayer and then we can come right back."

"That would be a great idea." He stood up and took her hands in his own. "I think it would be a great idea for us to get out for a bit and get some fresh air."

"Wonderful. When shall we leave?"

"We can go now if you would like?"

"That would be perfect." 

Persephone's smile was so broad and bright that Hades felt as if the world had stopped for a moment. The sun was nothing compared to the grin that was being bestowed upon him. His heart ached for the day when she would decide to leave him. He knew that day was coming and there was no stopping it. There was no way this goddess would want to forsake her family to remain in the Underworld with him. He could hope and dream, but in the end he knew it would all come crashing down around him.

She must have seen the sadness in his eyes; the fact that the smile he returned to her was smaller and less confident than usual. "What is it?"

He shook his head, forcing himself to smile wider. There was no point in wallowing in self-pity. He had to enjoy every moment he had with Persephone, not taint it with the fear of something that may or may not happen. "It's nothing, I promise."

Her eyebrows creased together. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Now come on, you want to fulfill this person's prayers don't you?"

"Well, I suppose so."

"Then come on! No use wasting time just standing around here. There are plenty of prayers to fulfill and this is just one of many."

Persephone shook her head. "I never know what to expect from you," she said.

He winked. "I like to keep things interesting."

She sighed dramatically. "Well then, let's go!" 

Hades watched as she skipped ahead, small flowers sprouting in her wake before dying again. He smiled sadly to himself before following.