Persephone

21. Grain ✔

Persephone

My head hurts, and so does the rest of my body, I try to get up, but my body does not let me. I open my eyes and find myself in my bedroom, and then I remember Thanatos.

"Hades! Hecate!" I scream.

Somebody better gets up here before that psycho shows up again.

"I'm here dear, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Hecate rushes to my side, putting her hand on my forehead.

"Thanatos."

"I know baby, Hades went looking for you and found you in the underworld, Thanatos wanted to hand you over to your mother, Demeter," she explains.

Demeter.

"Why is everyone talking about Demeter, and why is everyone painting her as the enemy, she's my mother right? So why would she want to hurt me?"

"Persephone, dear you need to calm down," Hecate says, "We are only trying to protect you."

"From what exactly because the only threat I see here is you keeping me away from my mother," I reply.

Hecate frowns, "You don't know the full story Persephone."

"Then tell me," I demand.

"It's not my place."

Seriously, I give you a good chance to explain yourself and you cannot. What is up with these people?

"Where is Hades?"

"Basement, he'll be up shortly," she replies, "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you, I'd like to be alone please."

Hecate nods to stand up and leave the room, as soon as the door closes, I get out of bed, wincing when my muscles ache severely. I need a bath.

I carefully walk to the bathroom and run myself a warm bath. I pour in some oils to help soothe my body, before putting my hair in a bonnet and slipping into the water, my skin tingles and I relax as soon as my body is fully in the water.

What happened to me? What did Thanatos want from me? I close my eyes, searching my mind for what had happened.

"You shouldn't have been found. You were supposed to stay hidden away and now look what you have done. You've started a war" I remember Thanos screaming at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course, you do not, Cronus made sure that you don't remember a thing from that day. I warned Cronus but he never listened."

"Thanos tell me what's going on," I beg.

That is when he hits me, and everything goes black. I open my eyes and Hades is staring at me from the bathroom door.

"What do you want?"

He walks towards me and kneels beside the tub.

"Persephone, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, I'm sorry for keeping secrets and for not being the person you expected me to be."

I frown, "And I'm sorry too, I should have listened and minded my own business."

He slips his hand into the water and caresses my thigh, I gasp.

He smirks, "All is forgiven darling, now get out and get ready, you have a guest waiting for you downstairs."

"Who might that be?"

"Someone you should have met a long time ago," he says before standing up and leaving.

Vague much.

I quickly bathe myself and get ready, putting on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, I take my bonnet off and comb my hair into a high puff pony and head downstairs.

"Here she is," Hades says.

He walks towards me, he's sitting across from a woman, black, with long dark hair. She looks old enough to be my mother, with brown eyes and a small smile that gives me a bad vibe.

I sit beside Hades and give the lady a quick smile.

"Hi."

"Persephone, I'd like to meet Demeter or Ceres, your biological mother."

That is the woman they have been warning me about.

"Persephone baby, how are you?" She greets me with a smile.

"Uhm, I'm good," I say nervously.

This is so awkward for me; I do not know how to act.

She stands up and looks at me, "Come give your mama a hug."

I look at Hades who gives me a nod and I hesitantly get up and hug her, she smelt like flowers, just like me.

"How I've missed you, baby," she sniffs, "I don't know why they kept you away from me."

Hades gets up and pulls me away, "That's enough and you know why we kept her away from you."

"I've changed."

Hades chuckles, "That's what you said, centuries ago and yet you still keep doing the same thing, Demeter."

"Wait centuries? What do you mean centuries?"

"Baby, we've been alive since the dawn of time, we are immortal beings, something your fiancé should have told you by now," Demeter replies.

I do not respond.

"Persephone, is there anything you'd like to ask your mother?"

"Why now? Why come back to me now? Why give me up for adoption?"

"Because you've become of age and my agreement with Hades has to be met and Cronus thought I wasn't fit to be a mother when I birthed you. So, he made me give you up for adoption and left you under the care of the Jones family," she explains. "I tried to talk him out of it but he and his sons wouldn't give me a chance to vindicate myself, so I had no choice."

"You were in on this Hades?"

He nods, "She wasn't fit to be a mother, she's abandoned many other children just so she could live a happy life."

"I have siblings?"

"Three of them, two brothers and a sister."

I look at Demeter, tears welling up in my eyes, that couple raised as an only child. I longed to have siblings, but the couple never had any, this woman was selfish, how could she claim to miss me if she never cared about me or my other siblings?

"Baby, I'm here to fix my mistakes and get to know you," she says.

"I don't believe you," I say slowly. "You don't care about me, you never did, if you're here that means you want something and hear this from me, whatever you want, you're not going to get it, ever."

She gasps, "Your foolish girl, how dare you talk to me like that."

"I have every right to speak to you however I want."

"I should have killed you when I had the chance. Pay attention Persephone, this isn't over," she says before she disappears into the smoke.

"Now you can see why we kept her from you, she's borderline evil."