Seeds: Hades and Persephone

Twenty-One

Hey y'all, remember that time a LONG LONG time ago when I told everyone that since I had gotten my laptop back, I'd be updating a lot more frequently? Yeah. That didn't happen. And I'm sorry I keep apologizing, so this time I'm not going to apologize. I'm just going to give you another chapter and hope you love it as much as I loved writing it. Thank you for all the kind comments over the past few months!

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The pond had been nice. Persephone and Willow had gone for a short swim before returning to the house. Persephone was now splayed out over her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts were racing, covering all sorts of subject matters. How am I going to get something growing in the Underworld? How can I stop Ares from doing what he did this morning? When am I going to see Hades again?

She shook her head swiftly, as if shaking her head fast enough would shake out all the thoughts in her head. She stood up, stretched for a bit and then made her way downstairs.

"How was gardening, dear?" Demeter asked as Persephone clomped down the stairs.

"Fine, mother." Persephone said, rubbing her eyes. "I might need another list of heat-resistant plants."

Things were not going well. She just couldn't get it. It had been three days, and almost every single plant on her list had died within less than a day. Only one of them had succeeded, and just barely at that. Persephone was counting on them. They had passed the no light test, now all they had to do was survive the heat test.

She knew it was hot in the Underworld, almost unbearably so. She prayed her plants would be able to stand it. The only problem was getting an environment that matched the scalding temperature. No sunlight had been easy; a silent shudder ran through her spine as she remembered what had happened in the darkened greenhouse. She shook if off and rolled over, wincing and she rolled off the comfy blankets and onto hard branches.

The weather had been pleasant the past three days, so instead of sleeping in her stuffy room at the top of the house, she had elevated to bring her blankets up to her tree-house and sleep there instead. She was surprised her mother was allowing her to spend her nights somewhere that wasn't the safety of her own home, but she wasn't complaining.

She climbed down the ladder of branches with her list in hand and entered the greenhouse once more. It had been a productive week for Persephone. In under seven days, she had completely dismantled the greenhouse and replaced the grey walls with paneled glass, making the whole thing see-through. She had sent a letter via Hermes to Apollo, asking if he would be so kind as to add a little extra heat to her greenhouse when he passed by in the afternoons. The golden-haired god had replied almost immediately, promising to do so. All other plants had failed in the extreme heat, and the only ones he had left to try were the last ones on her list. She hoped they would survive, not just because she would win the bet, but because they were beautiful flowers. They were a deep red, with orange in the centers and tips, and Persephone had always loved them.

She knelt down, it seemed for the thousandth time, and began digging small holes in the dirt, planting the seeds and pouring a small bit of water on them. She heard the familiar squeak of the door opening and whipped around, ready to see the hulking form of Ares behind her, but it was only her mother.

"Hello dear!" She said brightly, ignoring the mess surrounding her daughter.

"Hello mother," Persephone looked up and swept the hair out of her eyes, accidentally smearing dirt onto her cheek. "Can I help you?"

"No, actually. I'm going to be on Olympus for the day, and since you've been working so hard, I'm not going to get a chaperone for you." Persephone's mouth dropped into a small "o" shape as she replayed her mother's words in her head.