You've heard the story of how Persephone fell in love with Hades.
You've heard the story of how Hades kidnapped Persephone.
But you've never heard the real story.
Persephone fell in love with a girl, a demigod named Haliae.
The familiar gilded walls rise around us, made warmer by the candles that have been lit around the room.
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Persephone strolls ahead, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She stops at the first row of books. "These are the history books. They go for seven aisles on both sides, and they cover roughly any topic you can think of. You could probably learn some of history's hidden secrets in these walls."
She's breezing down the aisle as she talks, stopping briefly at the eighth row. "Biographies of the lost souls." She continues, listing categories as she goes. The genres are all familiar, but each seem to have a slight twist.
I follow Persephone around a corner and watch her face light up. "This is my favourite section of the library. It contains every genre of book I like to read." Persephone's smile turns down, "That means they're the shelves at the back of the library."
She walks forward, and I reach a hand out to brush the books nearest to me as she passes. "Fantasy novels, science-fiction, horror, romance."
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My cheeks heat up at the mention of the romance novels, and practically burn as Persephone turns into the aisle. I snatch my hand back, afraid of the contact.
I stand with my arms crossed, minutes ticking by as Persephone refuses to return.
"Persephone, what are you doing?" I hiss, getting no reply. "I swear to the gods, if you make me go down there..."
I peer into the shelves, letting out an undignified yelp as someone pulls me into the aisle by the back of my shirt.
I whirl around to find Persephone grinning at me with her arms full of books. I can see several fantasy novels, and what look to be a few science fiction books on the bottom. The ones on top that feature girls in various forms of intimate embraces are the ones that catch my eye, causing my heart to beat erratically.
"Do you need help with those?"
Persephone waves her hand, which is impressive considering the stack of books in her hand. "These on top are some of my, ah, tamer ones."
