The Colour Of Pomegranates

Chapter 59

Right before Hades and Persephone were expected at the venue in the black castle gardens, they spent a few precious minutes in his bed chambers from where they could see the hustle and bustle of a private wedding being set up. Although no one was specially invited, the nymphs and satyrs could not remember ever having so much fun about such an unusual event. Now that everyone was outside, it was deadly quiet in the castle. Hades let out a deep sigh as he wrapped his arms around Persephone's waist.

'One day mortals will use your name cursing instead of mine.' She leant back and rested her head against his shoulder.

'It will be a glorious day, for it is the day they stop underestimating me.' 

Hades chuckled. 'It won't take long then.' The god turned his beloved around so she could face him. He regarded her with earnest, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 'I am sorry you had little to no say in all of this.'

'What do you mean?'

'You know as well as I do all of this has been determined before you were offered the actual choice of becoming my wife, and Queen of this wretched place. I can't help but feel that if it was all you, you might have decided differently.' Smiling, Persephone cupped his face, squashing his cheeks.

'You're such a sore loser,' she cood before kissing his lips and letting go of his face. With a sincere voice she continued, 'not only was it not your voice that called me down, but you were the one who saw my ink black soul and offered me half your kingdom anyway. Who is tricking you in believing you tricked me? This marriage to you is the most conscious decision I have ever made. I came back Below because I craved all the ways you love me. Coming back was never a move out of pity. The Queen of the Underworld does not do pity. If I wanted to comfort a pitiful creature I'd never have come back at all, I would have stayed with Demeter. I came for power and love. I always have.' He smiled. Persephone knew it would take decades if not eons before he actually believed her words, but she would colour his world until the end of times if that was what it took. Marrying him would only be one step in the process.

'You should get ready,' he murmured. 'I believe we were supposed to be somewhere.' She let out a cackle and walked out of the room to put on her dress, a reluctant gift of her mother. 

The ceremony was otherworldly. Hades stood waiting below the black rose that bloomed over the pergola. It would be just him and Persephone, a union officiated by the divine Fate themselves. As soon as they would be married, the Fates would crown her Queen. Persephone walked down the black gravel path; black daffodils, lilies, tulips and carnations blooming in her trail. She wore a once white dress, covered in once pink rose petals. Now it was morphed into a dark grey, allowing her to be both goddess of flowers and goddess of darkness. A genuine smile spread over Hades' handsome face as his goddess walked up to him. He held out his hands, which she gladly took. Their hands crossed over, symbolising a figure eight or an infinity circle. As soon as their hands touched, a shimmering golden thread weaved its way over their hands, bounding them literally. Persephone gasped at its beauty and looked up to the man she loved. They say you can see true love in a woman's smile, the same way you can see true love in a man's eyes. Persephone could see it, without a doubt.

'They say a soul that is bound to Hades can never leave at their own disposal. I will grant you the leave to go whenever you need to. Whenever you want to,' Hades said in his characteristically calm voice. It was the same voice that had asked her who she was the first time she came Down, it was the same voice she had fallen in love with.

'They never talk about Hades being bound to a woman, because the intensity of a woman's true love fears them to Death. I will not grant you to be without my love, ever again. Let them fear me. Let me be bound to you forever.' Hades had fallen in love with her determination and spirit and he revelled in her words.

'They say the love of Hades is terrifying, for he has seen and been through Hell and he would go even further for the one he himself is bound to. I promise you I would.'

'They never talk about the grim heart of a vicious goddess, for a goddess is supposed to be kind and forgiving. They don't know where she has been, for whom she got on her knees. If ever the day comes they take you from me, I will uproot and devastate the world Up, Above and Below until I find you. I promise you I would.'

'They will talk about trickery, abduction and abuse, as long as they never have to say how much you loved the god underneath. They might never believe the God of the Dead to be capable of loving someone as much as I do you. They will never believe this to be love, but I promise to you on this day that I do. I love you.'

'They say that two golden threads of Fate woven together are stronger than a single string. They cannot take that away from us. They can talk and lie and exaggerate however much they'd like. In the end anyone who comes Down here, has to bow to us. I love you. And I will show them how much I love you by never forgiving them for their cruelty.' 

With every promise the thread grew tighter and for the first time Persephone did not only feel the hot white pool in her stomach, she felt the golden specks in the heavenly clouds that filled her being entirely. She felt truly divine.

After Persephone had been crowned Queen, Hades scooped her up and carried her into the castle. He felt an unquenchable desire and love for the woman who had been made his until the end of times. He walked into the bed chambers and made his way over to the bed where he put her down ever so gently. 

Hades slowly traced his fingertips along her bare arms, not wanting to miss a single bit of her soft skin. Following the fabric of her dress he found his way to the hem, but before lifting the dress up, he passed to her ankles and feet. He took off her shoes and placed them next to the bed before returning to her feet. From thereon he followed an invisible path upward, under her dress toward a spot behind her knees where he knew she was ticklish. She giggled involuntarily as he kissed that exact spot, slowly making his way up to her thighs.

'This will be the very first time I get to make love to my wife,' he murmured. 'I want to make sure I remember every single bit of you.' So he did, undressing her, taking her in from the faint freckles on her knees to the two tiny birthmarks only millimeters removed from her pelvis bone, from the unruly curls in her neck at the base of her skull to the gold and green specks in her impossibly dark eyes. 

Biting her bottom lip she watched him kiss his way up back to her face. She loved the way his black hair fell over his brow, or the way his electric blue eyes lit up when he gazed at her. She reached out to him to feel the muscle ripple beneath his pale skin, to the dimples in his lower back. She loved how hot his body felt, always a couple degrees warmer than hers, and the way he touched his left earlobe when he was thinking about something.

He slowly took off her black lace underwear and kissed her where she was first covered up. She gasped when he all at once attacked her with hot tongues and firm lips. He loved her heavenly sweet taste, drinking her in like an oasis in the desert. Weaving her nails through his hair she pulled him closer.

'Is this what the King of Souls, God of Dead, Lord of Shadows, Protector of the Nether Realm likes?' she teased. 'Super polite foreplay?'

He grinned maliciously. 'What they told me is that, when a queen grants you an audience with her Majesty, you better behave. Is that not what you expect from your humble servant?'

'They lied! Her Majesty needs to be fucked senseless to temper her damn hormones.' Smiling, she propped up on her elbows. 'Make it a night I won't forget. No Tuesday night sex.' He looked at her in mock disapproval.

'Now, from my point of view you're soaking wet as is. Don't insult my game.' He grabbed her thighs and pulled her closer, dragging her over the bed. Laughing, she touched his shoulder. He swatted down her hand and pushed her into the mattress with one hand, pulling his belt from his pants with the other. Without breaking eye contact he slung his belt around her wrists and tied her up. Persephone bit her lip in anticipation. Her husband then grabbed her hips and turned her over so she sat on her knees  facedown. Hades loosened his tie and leaning on the bed he blindfolded her with it. She liked the way it smelled of his cologne.

'Can I-'

'No talking unless I tell you to.'