When Darkness Met Her

Sinister

The gardens ahead were a mixture of grass, flowers, trees, and maze as Persephone looked on. Guests of the party all danced and floated outside, their figures flowing in dresses and robes like ghosts as they drifted into the gardens to get lost. Persephone felt the pull of the party and before she knew it she was drifting away from Hades.

Hades hadn't stopped her from going, his own mind brooding as it glanced away from the gardens and into the darkness. Why had he let that kiss get so far? He had known that it was supposed to be an act, but feeling her against him, having her touch him and caress him as if she really wanted him made him feel...

A shake of the head brought the God of the Dead back to his senses as he watched others start to drift into the garden maze. But Persephone was not to be seen anymore.

A strike of panic sped up through Hades's spine as his whole body became alert.

Persephone was gone.

****************************************************

The young goddess moved almost numbly through the gardens, nymphs and satyrs passing her by occasionally as they giggled wildly about what they were about to do. She could care less at this point. Slowly her body went from numb to rejected, a feeling she had never really known until this point.

Hades had pulled away from her. He had not wanted the kiss and he did not want her.

Slowly Persephone began going deeper and deeper into the maze, the sounds of others laughing and giggling falling far behind as she kept moving forward, the darkness of the night now surrounding her as she walked through the sculpted bushes and the beautiful night blooming flowers that let a intoxicating aroma fill the air.

They reminded her of the night Hades had drawn up his plan for her freedom...

*************************************************************************

Persephone sat by a bubbling fountain outside of Hades's house waiting for the Lord of the Dead to return with a plan in store. Zeus and Demeter would be down here any moment, and they needed to act fast if Persephone wanted to spend the rest of her life free and not married to that awful Pan. She pushed her hands down her robe, smoothing out the silken fabric, but each time her hand left it went right back in waves and twists around her legs. What a fine mess she had gotten herself in this time. She should have just decline Hades request politely and took off on her own, that way the God of the Dead wouldn't be held up in all of this chaos.

But Hades had related to her troubled heart, and his help would never be forgotten in her eyes. Faintly she could smell the light aroma's coming from his gardens around the courtyard where she sat. It seemed funny that the Underworld could hold so much life and beauty in it. Though she was sure Tartarus was not as pleasant as the upper levels of this dark world. But still, when she looked up, the darkness held twinkling lights that almost looked like stars to Persephone even though she knew she was far underground.

"I wanted it to look like the night sky" Hades voice suddenly said from the shadows.

Persephone jumped up but relaxed when he came into the light carrying a pomegranate in his hand.

"It's the one thing I miss about being up above" he said tossing the fruit in the air and catching it with the same hand "So when I came down here, I discovered that being the King of the Underworld had it's perks, and that I possessed all the riches of the earth. So I took each mineral, each gem, polished it and made it glow. Then I stuck them all up there with the help of Hermes so that it reflected the sky I knew I wouldn't be able to see all the time."