The Girl that Hades called Persephone

-43-

My eyes felt heavy, but my mind felt light, wandering around inside, listening to the outside world. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know if I was safe or not, not until I heard Hades voice, then I knew I was okay.

I opened my eyelids slowly, feeling the pain and soreness behind the skin.

"Persephone," Hades said, getting in my line of vision.

"Hades?" I asked, knowing it was the love of my life, but just wanted to check first.

"Yes, I'm here," he said, putting his hand on my head, stroking my hair.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"Home . . . my home, you're safe here. No one is going to hurt you."

I just nodded. "Home," I whispered. I looked up to him, my weak eyes meeting his, and said, "Our home."

He broke into a smile and wrapped his arms around my neck. "I love you so much, I am so happy you're okay."

"Honey," I said.

"Yes, my love? My moon and stars? My-"

"Honey, you're squeezing me too hard," I said.

"Oh! Right," he let go as fast as he could. He placed an arm on my shoulder, "Sorry."

"Meh, I would put up with any pain to get a hug out of you," I said, smiling because it was so stupid and cheesy, but it made him happy and that was all that I cared about. I looked past him, looking around the room. I was laying on the ground, the warm grass keeping my body alive, and the fresh air filtering out the bad stuff.  It was my garden. "Why are we in here?"

"This room, well, you put your heart and soul into it. It's going to heal you in return," he explained. I looked behind me, seeing my favorite fruitless olive tree.

"This tree likes us the most." I placed a hand on it, rubbing it slowly, saying thank you to it quietly.

"Persephone, is there anything I can get you? Water? Tea? Anything at all?"

"I'm craving a pomegranate; do you have any imported?"

"Pomegranate? Let me go check," he said, standing up and starting to walk. I wish he hadn't, because as soon as he was gone, my mother appeared.

I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my body, maybe even escaping me and burying itself down into the earth as far as possible. I missed her, I was excited to see her when she escaped me. However, the feeling of the ring on my finger was starting to burn.

My mom knelt down next to me, tears in her eyes, and she wrapped me up in her nice warm hugs that she was always good at doing. "Mom," I breathed, hugging her as tight as I could myself.

"Oh, my sweet Steffi, I am so sorry."

"Me too mom. I'm sorry."

"You're safe now, you hear me? You're safe."

"I know."

She let go, checking my body for any cuts or starches, anything to heal me from. She smiled and slightly raised my chin up with her fingers. "You are such a brave and powerful young girl. I saw what you did."

"What did I do?" I asked, highly confused.

"Your powers came through."

"When?"

"Earlier. Do you not remember?" she asked. I shook my head, and she went on to tell me how my powers went through my body, and how I stood strong, and how Hades had to save me before I burnt out my body.

I was speechless. It would be something I would think I could remember, but I couldn't for the life of me.

"I've spoken to Uncle Charlie, and he thinks it's the perfect time to start training."

I smiled. "You mean it?"

"Of course! You can leave college behind, and forget about this silly proposal and start training as something important."

I felt like she had stabbed me with a very sharp knife. My smile dropped quickly, and I just shook my head. "Mom, you don't get it, do you?"

"Honey, I know it's hard-"

"Why do you not want me to be with Hades? Why do you not want me to get my education?"

"Okay, well, the college, you can go back to our town. There are online ones, and one just 15 minutes away from us."

I grabbed her hand. "Mom, I love my life here. At my school, with Hades, I love it, mom."

Hades walked into the room, with a bowl of pomegranates. My eyes went huge to the bowl and I laughed. "You got enough?"

Hades laughed. "So, some of these are imported, and some aren't, so I am going to go through the labels, but I figured the ones that aren't, we could use them in here."

He sat down next to me, and place the bowl down. "Which one is which?"

"White label means they came from above, and the ones without mean they're from here. Throw them by the tree over there."

"Hades," my mother sang. I tried to focus on sorting out the fruit, trying to distance myself from her.

"Yes, Demeter?" he said, his tone dry.

"Persephone and I will be on our way, so you won't need to give her any of those."

"Well, Steffi wanted some," Hades said, wiping his hands on his pants and standing up, and then crossing his arms.

"My daughter and I are going to go home."

"Why is that? She needs to rest here for a little while, don't you think?"

"The farther she is away from you, the sooner she will realize she can be more than . . . than . . . well, this?"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Hades rolled his eyes.

"For you to drag her down here."

The white label went back to the bowl, the one without I tossed to the tree.

"Have you ever thought about what Steffi wanted?" Hades fired back.

The pomegranates looked so juicy and tasty. Toss, toss, throw on back in the bowl.

"You cannot really think for one second she won't grow tired of this, do you?"

I held onto a pomegranate in my hand, feeling it all around, letting my fingers get sticky. I started to peel it, letting the juice ran in my hands. 

"You don't own her!" Hades yelled.

"Neither do you!" my mother yelled.

I took a bite into the pomegranate. The one without the white label. 

*Update on this chapter as I have received many messages. I have never ate a pomegranate in my life. It actually had to look it up and see how to eat one. You peel it, not bite into it! I'm so sorry for this chapter but I am actually laughing at myself for it. Thank you for all the messages and comments for telling me that you don't actually just bite into a pomegranate!!! <3