A Mythical Love: Hades and Persephone's Truth

Chapter Four: Life As We Know It

The heavens shook as Demeter moved towards Zeus' great white pillar palace. The marble pillars cracked as vines sprouted from within them. "Zeus!" Demeter screamed in anger, shaking the columns of Zeus' palace once more. "Zeus, our evil and vile brother has stolen my daughter!" Demeter threw the doors of Zeus' bedroom open, the loud crash of the doors hitting the marble walls interrupted the activity occurring in Zeus' bed.

"Demeter, be gone! I'm sure Persephone is simply hiding out in her garden." Zeus pulled himself up from under the covers of his bed to yell at his enraged sister. Demeter looked at Zeus with hatred in her eyes.

"I shall unleash hell upon the Earth Zeus, until my daughter is returned to me nothing shall grow!" Demeter vowed angrily. Then she turned and marched out of Zeus' palace back to her own marble home. For days she wept on the floor of Persephone's room. For the first time ever snow fell to the Earth, slowly plants and animals began to freeze and humans began to starve. Hell had been unleashed.

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Persephone woke to a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and a hard chest pressed against her back. She turned over in Hades arms to look upon his sleeping face. His features were soft and relaxed when he slept. He smiled slightly as he slept. Persephone reached up to brush a stay hair away from his face and saw his face twitch slightly at her touch. She laughed quietly at his reaction. Hades eyes fluttered open to see Persephone staring at him with love filled eyes and he smiled. "Good morning my sweet Flower." He kissed her rose colored lips softly before getting up from their bed and walking over to the vanity to scoop up the basket of fruit Hecate had brought for his Persephone. He placed the basket on the bed before his soon to be queen. She looked at the fruits intensely before pulling a red pear from the basket and taking a bite from it.

Hades sat down beside her and smiled as he watched her feed on the sweet fruits. As she moved on to the berries she paused, "Hades, when shall we be married?" SHe looked up at him, searching his eyes for an answer.

"Tomorrow if you so wish my love." he smiled down at her as she popped a ripe raspberry into her mouth.

"That's perfect!" she shouted joyfully as she threw her arms around him. "I shall need a dress, you've ripped my only one." She laughed as she spoke her thoughts. Hades stood back up and walked over to the dark wood armoire across the room and opened up the heavy looking doors. Gowns in a variety of colors and styles spilled out for Persephone to see. She squealed with excitement as she marveled at all of her choices, never had she been spoiled in such a manner. She jumped off the bed and ran to where Hades stood and pulled a beautiful and simple emerald green chiton from the pile of gowns. The edges of it were embroidered with golden thread that also accented the edges of her long flowy sleeves. It was one of the most beautiful gowns she'd ever seen, it was a gown fit for a queen. She quickly threw the chiton on and wrapped a gold rope belt from the armoire around her torso before walking over to the vanity and brushing out her hair. It shined like copper threads and she very carefully wrapped matching green ribbon around her hair then applied a few of her face creams. She turned to see Hades staring at her in awe. "What is it Hades?" she asked, confused by his expression.

"You look like a queen already. I swear you get more beautiful every time I look at you." Persephone smiled at Hades compliments and felt her face turn red.

"I can't wait to be your queen Hades, to be bound to you forever and to rule by your side here." Hades walked over to where Persephone sat and kissed the top of her head gently. "I love you Hades, as the flowers love the sun and the Earth." she professed.

"I love you too Persephone, as the moon loves the stars." Hades moved to the armoire and pulled some dark grey robes from it to dress himself in. After he finished readying himself he reached out for Persephone's hand. "Come, today I shall show you your future kingdom and what you shall do by my side." She smiled and laced her fingers with his, then they left their bed chamber to explore Persephone's new world.

The morning was spent judging souls by the river Acheron and explaining how the rivers worked to Persephone. She seemed truly interested in everything Hades did and was surprised to see how much care and effort he put into judging the souls that came before him. She admired his fairness and the kindness he showed to children who passed through his domain. After the last soul had been judged Hades took Persephone to explore her new home. The Asphodel meadows were Persephone's favorite, with all the beautiful plant life and kind souls she found there, they spent their time sitting on the banks by the river Oceanus eating fruits from the basket Hecate had given them and enjoying one another's company. They spoke of their thoughts, their feelings, and their dreams. Persephone spoke of how many children she wanted and Hades spoke about the mysteries of the Isles of the Blessed, the one place Persephone could not visit and was curious about. They were unbelievably happy just being in each others presence. Persephone couldn't imagine anything better.

After a long day of talking and exploring Hades carried his sleeping flower to their room and placed her on their bed. He tucked her in before changing and climbing in beside her, pulling her to his chest and falling asleep wrapped around her tiny delicate form.