The Girl that Hades called Persephone

-35-

"What do my notes say about chapter 28?" I asked Hades. He was staring at me, not responding. "Hey, honey? Focus?"

"Uh? Oh, right . . . what was that question again?"

I moaned. "Honey . . . you promised you were going to focus on helping me study for my exams. Look, if you're not going to help, I'll be going back to my dorm to-"

"No, no, no, Steffi. I am focused on. Um, okay, let's see... .chapter 29."

"28." I corrected him.

He blushed. "Right, I know that."

I had told Hades that I wanted to go back to my dorm, to study for my exams. He begged me to come to the gardens like I always did every night. However, my week was so busy with study guides, and exams coming up. I told him it would be a few nights, but my lord, he looked like a little lost puppy.

The way that he had looked at me, I felt so bad, so I asked what if he had studied with me. He agreed without a moment pass. But it seemed to me that he had never studied college-level biology or math. It was weird to see him struggle a bit. 

I suppose he was just so used to flickering his wrist and having whatever at hand.

"Honey, let's call it a night, okay?" I told him.

"But your exam is tomorrow, don't you need to study more?" he asked me.

"Well, if I didn't know it by now, I will not know it by tomorrow."

"Fair enough," he said, handing me back my notebooks. "Are you wanting to go back?"

"No," I smiled. We sat in my garden, next to the fruitless olive tree. It was always my favorite tree. I crawled over to him, sat in his lap, and wrapped my arms around him. I never saw his face, I was always buried in his chest, but I knew he was always smiling.

"What do you want to do?"

"Stay in your arms . . .forever."

"You can, you know that right?"

"Of course," I said, looking to the ring on my finger. "Till my mother finds out, just saying."

"Ugh, don't remind me. But when are you going to tell her?"

I felt my heart sink. "Never?"

He kissed my head. "It'll have to be some time."

"Just not soon?" I said, lifting my head off his chest, and giving him my puppy dog eyes.

He laughed. "Whatever you feel is right, my love."

"Hey."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I love you."

He gave a huge laugh, the one from the stomach. It was my favorite one, it always made me happy to hear it. "I love you too, my little flower."

He kissed my lips gently, making me feel playful. When he pulled back, I followed his head, still kissing him. He smiled and went on kissing me. Though, he did try to get his lips back to himself. That wasn't going to happen.

He lends back, and I followed, till he was actually on his back, and I was on top of his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

I fully let go of his lips. "Forever?"

He nodded. "Forever."

"I love you Hades."

"I love you Persephone. I love you so much, that I am going to force you to back to your dorm, and make you sleep so you can rest up for your exams tomorrow."

"No!" I moaned and groaned like a toddler. I kicked my legs, but he held on tighter and laughed at me. "I don't wanna go."

"I don't want you to either, but someone has to make sure you're reasonable. Unless . . .you want help with your exams tomorrow?"

I sighed. "No, I shouldn't do that. It's cheating."

He smiled at me. "That's what I love about you. You can have a million ways to cheat, to take the easy way out, yet you still do it the human way."

"It was the way I was raised."

"Your mother is a good mother, I promise."

I sighed and sat up. "I know . . . I need to tell her about this. It makes me happy, and I want her to know I am happy right now, you know?"

He patted me on the back, "Don't worry. She will understand. She will be happy for you."

"I can only hope so."

*-*-*

We always held hands as he walked me back to my dorm. Sometimes he whole arm would wrap around my body, sometimes we only held each other by our pinkies. It didn't really matter, as long as we were connecting in some form of way possible.

At our lamppost, we always gave each other a good night kiss. "Goodnight, my future queen."

I moaned. To think, to be with him, that one day I would be a queen, something that scared me. "Ugh, I am not queen worthy."

He gave me another kiss on the cheek. "You will make a fine queen. Don't worry. You will be the best queen that anyone has seen."

"If you say so," I rolled my eyes. "Wait, were there others?" 

He laughed. "No. Might be a little embarrassing, but you're the only person I've ever been with, who I have ever loved." 

"Really?" 

"Thousands of years,  I've walked all corners of this human world, all corners of the Underworld, and you were the first person I ever found myself fall in love with." 

I smiled, widely. I gave him a kiss on his cheek and looked him in his eyes. "I will be your queen then. You're the only person I ever want to be with." 

He grabbed my hand, placing his lips on them, and smiled. 

As I was walking away, I couldn't help but feel the eyes were staring at me. And they were not Hades, these were different ones. Ones that made my veins freeze, and my heart race. I just shrugged it off though and went inside.