The Cruel King: Fiction of Hades and Persephone (short story)

There was once a lonely king who decided to take a walk outside his castle. He is wearing a disguise of a stranger for him to be anonymous to the eyes of the public. The king wanted to see a view that would somehow erase the loneliness in his heart but all he saw was chaos, thievery, cheating, and other crimes that people commit. One reason why many are executed in his kingdom. The reason why he is known as cruel, heartless, and cold.

He was disappointed with what he saw and went to a place where silence is all you can hear. He went to the woods. A place where there may be no people but the calmness of nature can somewhat ease the loneliness in the king's heart, but still, something is still missing.

Relaxing and feeling the breeze, the king suddenly heard a beautiful laugh. He was curious to who owns the voice so he followed where it came from and found himself to a beautiful garden. He had never seen such a wonderful place with all the flowers blooming so beautifully, and the water in the river is crystal clear. But the most beautiful scene is the pretty girl wearing a simple white dress with flowers decorated all over her long, shiny hair laughing at the water nymphs' humor. Cupid, the love god accidentally witnessed the spark in the king's eyes and immediately done his job to erase the doubt in the king's mind and let him know it's love. Yes, that is the power of cupid's arrow. It does not make you fall in love because you already are. But it would erase all the rationality and make you feel that you are already in love.

In a split second, the king felt warmth enveloping his heart watching the girl smile. Without hesitation, he have decided that he will own her. Days have passed and he have constructed a plan to make her his. With the help of his brother, the king was successful upon abducting the innocent girl, trapping her in his castle.

In the state of shock, the girl cried and begged for her freedom not knowing what she did wrong to be caged. With that state, the king saw how fragile she is and that broke his heart. But it is a better choice than losing her. He could not afford to, because she's already his life. It hurts to see her in pain but nothing will be left of him if she leaves, not even a piece. A selfish choice indeed, but what can he do? He's been trapped by love.

Many days passed and she started to see him as a monster just like others do. What hurts most than being hated by the person you love to the point that she doesn't want to even look at you? It hurts more than dying. So with a heavy heart, he approved her freedom. It was unexpected from him and somehow, the girl had seen something from the king.

Before leaving, she turned only to see the king looking in the sky with a firm face but with the eyes of a broken man. As she walks away, the image of the king couldn't get out from her mind until she got home. All her life she thought that the love of her mother is enough but why does she feels like something is missing? Every day and night, she couldn't forget the image of the king before she left. Her sudden change was observed by her mother, and had a hint that she might have fell for her capturer. It's not impossible because from her stories, she was treated as a queen while she was in capture. No man would ever do that to a girl whom he does not love. Though it's hard to let go of her only offspring, the girl's mother told her to come back in the arms of the king.

With her mother's blessing, she immediately ran back to the kingdom and hugged the king tightly. With the days that they are not together, she discovered that she too loved him in the process. She was just blinded by shock, anger, and sudden separation with her mother whom she love dearly. But now, everything is settled. They both know their share of mistakes and learned from it.

The king found his queen and the emptiness in his heart is already filled. Everything seems to be enough as long as she's with him. No matter what others see him, cruel, cold-a monster. It doesn't matter as long as she loves him and see what is truly inside him. A king who needs a queen who would rule his heart.