Fates Entwined

Prologue

The Greek goddess Demeter had a daughter whom she loved very much. She was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in all of Greece. Her name was Persephone. She spent most of her time on Mount Olympus with her mother and all the other gods. Unbeknownst to Demeter her daughter had caught the eye of Hades, the god of the underworld. He had devised a plan to take the girl when she next came down the mountain with her mother. One day her mother needed to descend the mountain to look over some crops and decided to take Persephone along with her. Persephone went away from her mother to play with some freshwater nymphs who resided at a nearby lake. She noticed a valley full of beautiful flowers, she wanted to check it out. So she invited her friends along with her but they couldn't leave the waterside or they could die. So Persephone went off on her own. She danced her way into the valley to pick some flowers for her friends and mother. As she made her way deeper into the valley the ground began to tremble and crack open. She became frozen in fear and cried out for her mother. But it was to late by the time her mother made it to the valley Persephone had been swallowed up by the ground. Demeter was devastated at the loss of her beloved daughter. Persephone awoke to the sound of dogs growling and barking, she was utterly terrified. The last thing she remembers is calling for her mother as the ground swallowed her whole. She stood up and looked around. It was dark and smelled of sulfur. She stumbled around for a while trying to find her way out of the cavern when she heard a voice.

"You are just as beautiful as the first time I saw you" a deep husky voice called out from the darkness.

"Who's there? Where am I?" She called back into the darkness. A man slowly began to emerge in front of her. He walked slowly towards her as if he was afraid that if he moved to fast she would flee. He stopped in front of her. He had long unkempt black hair that covered half of his face, his eyes were bright blue and looked like they were a blaze. He had a strong jaw and sculpted facial features. He was wearing a black tunic with a pair of black trousers underneath. She was taken aback by his beauty.

"I am Hades and this is my home." He spoke in a very matter of fact way that almost implied that she should know the answers to these questions already.

"I do not understand why I am here." She said with sob. He stared at her for a second his hard expression unchanging.

"I have brought you here because I need a bride. All of this has been worked out with Zeus. Now please come with me." He motioned for her walk in front of him. He brought her into a large room that was decorated with various tapestries that depicted different gods and goddess. He stopped in front of massive thrown and sat upon it.

"Achos, Ania" He called out. Two short women came forward.

"Yes master?" They both kneeled before him

"Clean her up for dinner" He pointed at Persephone. She hadn't even noticed until then that she had been covered in dirt and grass. The two women nodded at Hades and took her away. They entered another room, except this one was almost completely empty except for a big pool. The two women stripped her and through her into the water. They began to wash her and scrub her.

"Please stop, I am capable of washing myself" She stated while she struggled against the two women. One of them grabbed her shoulders and held her still as the other continued to wash her. Once she was clean the two women hoisted her out of the water and began to dress her. They dressed her in a flowing purple robe. And lead her back out to the room that they had left Hades in. Now there was a table set up that was covered in food. She hadn't even realized that she was hungry until she laid eyes on all of the food.

"Please have a seat. You must be hungry." He motioned for her to take a seat next to him. He was staring at her with an expression that she hadn't noticed before. His facial features had softened, he had almost looked happy. She sat down and he placed a plate of fruit in front of her. He plucked what looked like some sort of melon and began to cut it. "Did you enjoy your bath?" He spoke while he continued to slice the piece of fruit.