Seeds: Hades and Persephone

Nine

Persephone was having a rotten week. A rotten month, really. Ever since she had gotten back from her escapades in the Underworld, a certain dark-haired god had been at the forefront of her mind. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe it was the lack of things to do. She had been confined to her room by her mother. They weren't speaking to each other. None of the nymphs seemed to enjoy talking with her anymore. She couldn't leave her room, which greatly limited her options of trying to distract herself from the god occupying her thoughts.

Hermes visited often enough. Demeter had forbidden him from stepping anywhere near Persephone, though. She still believed that Persephone had fled to Hermes that day that Ares proposed, so she didn't trust Hermes at all around Persephone. He couldn't come near her.

But he did anyway. A special skill that Hermes possessed was invisibility. He would often spend time with Persephone, talking about trivial things such as the weather and sometimes about her time in the Underworld. He would never talk about Hypnos, though. Persephone couldn't figure out why. Every time she tried to approach the subject, he would either clam up, change the subject, or confess that he had to leave on an important job.

When she heard the familiar tapping on her window, she leapt off her bed and opened her door quietly, alert for her mother. When she heard no sign of her, she bolted towards the window and unclasped the latch, smiling as an invisible person fell forward and landed hard on the floor, turning visible. It was Hermes.

"Hey!" He said casually, as if he hadn't just pitched forward and fallen ungracefully on her floor.

"Hey." She said, smiling.

"I can't stay." He confessed apologetically. "But!" He said brightly. "I brought something for you." He smiled.

"What is it?" Persephone asked, leaning forward.

"That's a secret." Hermes smiled slyly. Persephone got the feeling he was enjoying torturing her like this.

"Hermes," She whined. "Just tell me!"

The smile never left his face as he produced a letter. He tossed it over her head and it landed on her bed. She dove for it. When she came up clutching the letter, Hermes was nowhere to be seen. She smiled, rolling her eyes.

She sat down at her desk and marveled at the perfect cursive "Persephone" written on the front.

She carefully opened the letter, and held it upside down until a folded piece of paper fell out of the envelope. She unfolded it and her face lit up. It was from Hades! She quickly scanned through the letter.

" Dear Persephone," It read.

"I have heard of the predicament with your mother, and I'd like to offer my deepest apologies and condolences. I know you must be bored out of your mind, so I'd like to offer my form of help. Three days from now, the council is convening. Demeter is going to be speaking for several hours on the importance of grain in a godly diet, so she'll be occupied for several hours. I am supposed to go, but no one will notice if I slip out halfway. If it pleases you, we can arrange a meeting. Just between us, at the log we first met at. I assume you know where that is. It'll be a welcome break from your house arrest. If not, we can arrange a different location. I'm interested on hearing how you got out of telling your mother that is wasn't exactly Hermes you went to. Please respond to this letter as soon as you can.

Yours,

Hades "

Persephone's heart was racing. She clutched the letter in her hands and fell back onto her bed with a giddy squeal.

She was going to see Hades! She was going to meet up with him! She was going to leave her room. Finally! She let loose another long squeal before getting up and dancing around her room. A bursting laugh reverberated around the room and she gasped, backing up again the wall.