Three Seeds

Persephone woke early after a nearly sleepless night.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, feeling the loss of those hours spent awake, thinking.

Her best friend Apollo had dined with her last night. He told her that her father had arranged a marriage, which wasn't unusual...but it was unusual that he was talking about it. Apollo didn't care about other gods' business. He refused to tell her who would be married, but her sister Athena got it out of him over the course of the evening. Athena was good at getting people to do what she wanted.

Persephone wondered if she would let Athena get it out of him if she had known then what she knew now...if she would let the news come out that way.

Because now she knew it was her own marriage that had been arranged.

Her marriage to Hades. The god of the Underworld.

So she was up quite late. She tossed, turned, tried different positions, cried, tossed and turned some more, then finally fell asleep just before dawn after vowing to wake early and take care of this situation before word got out that she would be wed to Hades. 

Because if she had anything to say about it, she would not be wed to Hades.

She would accept any of her suitors. Anyone but him.

She dressed in her favorite ivory gown and braided her hair in a simple braid to the side. It fell to the bottom of her ribs. Persephone loved her hair...but she still sighed when she dressed for the day. Because every time Persephone dressed for the day, she was reminded of how lacking she was compared to her sisters.

Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess of all time. She had extremely long, wavy, golden hair and eyes the color of the Mediterranean Sea. Athena had lighter and straighter hair than Aphrodite, but it was just as long, her eyes just as blue. They were delicate and gorgeous and blonde and fair and perfect. They took after their father. And then there was Persephone, who took after her mother.  

Even her name was plainer than her sisters' names. 

Her skin was fair, her complexion pretty enough, but it was nothing special. Her dark, dark hair cascaded far down her back in loose curls and her eyes were a deep, deep brown. She wasn't ugly- she was a goddess, after all- but she was nothing compared to her sisters. 

She peeked at their blonde heads, partially buried under their blankets, and sighed again.

She loved them, but they made her feel so...subpar. 

One would think Hades would have wanted to marry them, not her.

She shook her head and snuck out of the house.

~~~~~~~~

Zeus was the father of the gods. He was the most respected and feared god in existence, but Persephone knew him to be a big softy, especially when it came to her.

"Father," she called, entering his home.

"Persephone, my darling!" he exclaimed, embracing her.

She hugged him, but pulled away, face set. 

"What is it, my sweet?"

"Father, have you arranged a marriage for me without my consent?"

He avoided her gaze. "Hades can offer you-"

"Father! I will not marry Hades!"

"He is my-"

"I don't care what you think of him! He is evil and he is awful and-"