The Colour Of Pomegranates

Chapter 3

In order to celebrate Persephone's coming of age, Demeter brought her to the Court of Olympus, where she would be introduced to the other Olympians. Persephone had never seen anything alike to the grand palace. The white marble felt cold to the touch and there grew only white flowers, even in her own trail walking through the perfectly trimmed gardens.

'Everyone, I would like you to meet Persephone,' said Demeter proudly, 'my daughter, Maiden Goddess of Spring and Nature.' The other gods looked up, some of them almost curious, others downright bored and impatient for the party.

'Bring her here,' a bellowing voice ordered. 'Please.'

'Come, Kore,' her mother said softly, 'let's go to your father.' Persephone walked up to the golden throne and smiled at the handsome god sitting on it. Zeus was everything she imagined him to be: tall, broad-shouldered, with a mischievous gleam in his thunder cloud grey eye.

'O, Me, she is beautiful,' Zeus said.

'I got that from my mother.' The god of gods laughed.

'Feisty, too.'

'She got that from me as well,' Demeter said with a warning look in her eye. Hera, who sat next to the king of gods drew a sharp breath.

'Could you please stop looking at your daughter like that,' she muttered under her breath, 'it's disgusting.'

'Please,' said Zeus, ignoring his wife, 'you are always welcome here. Treat it like your second home. Feel free to get some food and wine. It's truly divine.' Persephone looked up to her mother. Demeter nodded and followed her to the grand buffet.

'I will be right back,' she said. 'Help yourself to some food and please, Persephone, try to stay out of trouble.' Curious the goddess of spring walked around the place with a golden plate filled with fruits and sweet cakes.

'Why,' said a gorgeous young god with short dark curls, 'I like your flowers.' She smiled at him. He must've been Apollo. It couldn't have been anyone else.

'Thank you.'

'Would you like me to show you around?' She accepted and followed handsome Apollo to the grand rooms that extended into the skies.

'This is the official throne room,' he said and gestured toward the twelve thrones. She didn't need to guess which one was Zeus'.

'Which one is my mother's?' she asked.

'The one on the left,' he said as they walked over to the richly decorated seats. 'Can you guess which one is mine?' Her eyes glided over the thrones.

'That's the one,' she said and walked over to it. The god of music followed her and chuckled when she tapped the seat.

'Very good. Tell me, Persephone, how do you like the idea of being a maiden goddess for eternity?' She laughed.

'I'm sorry, what in Zeus' name could you mean by that?' He leaned in closer.

'How about not being the maiden goddess your dear mother wants you to be? I can show you the way, if you'd like.' She leaned into him until the tip of her nose almost touched his.

'Careful now, I'm more dangerous than these pretty flowers would suggest. They will die and wither at my beckoning.' As he didn't back off, she felt a crimson hot anger rise from deep within. All the flowers in a radius of ten feet crippled and withered instantly, leaving nothing but a blanket of black crumpled up flowers. Apollo bowed to her respectfully and when he straightened his back he smiled.

'You should definitely meet the Olympian goddesses, I'm sure you will like them.' He led her into the atrium where the goddesses spent their pastime. Apollo kissed his twin-sister endearingly on her temple and pulled her closer. Lazily, the three goddesses studied the newcomer. They got up from their divans and started circling her as a troop of lionesses.

'So this is Persephone? The one the Fates talked about?'

'She isn't as pretty as I thought she would be.'

'Don't be jealous, Aphrodite. She is pretty - but what else is there?'

'You are right - I don't sense a powerful goddess. She is no more important than the nymphs in Poseidon's seas.' Persephone grew impatient with their rude and null talk and crossed her arms loosely.

'Do you know how you make sure a goddess dies?' she said sharply.

'You can't kill a goddess. We are eternal.'

'Wrong. You can't kill a goddess, but you can forget about her altogether. That would be the end of you.' She wasn't done threatening the ancient Olympians who so decidedly took turns in offending her when Zeus clapped his hands. He seemed to enjoy her crimson anger to the fullest. He would even dare to say she awakened his heavenly flesh by it.

'I like your temper, dear Kore. Let me show you the bath houses. They are exquisite.' She bowed her head curtly and left the goddesses by themselves.

'What do you think of her?' Artemis asked.

'Hera doesn't like her at all.'

'Of course she doesn't, but do you like her?' Athena shrugged her shoulders.

'I actually do.'

'Me too.' They laughed and went back to their businesses.

That night, when all the gods sat down for dinner Zeus joked about Persephone being pretty enough to make a good divine wife.

'Except that I don't wish to be,' she smiled wryly.

'Persephone is to abstain for the remainder of time,' Demeter told her ex-lover sternly. Although Persephone knew this, it sounded different now her mother told the other gods. An eternity would last long enough, and several eternities could leave her devastated - as withered as the flowers she destroyed under Apollo's wishful gaze. She swallowed. At least there was no one who could seduce her to be anything other than virginal. She noticed the way her mother looked at Zeus. Demeter recognised the flicker in her past lover's eye and took Persephone's hand.

'Thanks for this wonderful day,' she said, and whisked them both away.