There is an island dim and grim,
Which host the vile villains and their kin.
Locked away, punished, and rotting,
Sad, pathetic, thou ponder with longing.
In a land of fairytales, a king and queen, longing for a child, are blessed with a beautiful princess. Their joy is boundless, and the entire kingdom rejoices - until villains arrive, unleashing calamity and destroying their happiness. As is customary in such tales, the villains are defeated, and the fairy godmother, aided by twelve good fairies, banishes them to a grim sub-dimension called "The Devil's Paradise" - a desolate island where the most wicked souls rot in isolation.
But the story doesn't end with a happy-ever-after for everyone. The villains, though punished, have children of their own - innocent offspring burdened by the sins of their parents. These children, desperate for love and recognition, grow up surrounded by danger, raised among murderers and fiends, enduring a life of unjust hardship.
A pardon may yet be the key to breaking this cycle of inherited suffering.
A retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth, a story of fate, the struggle for power, and love found in the most unexpected places.
*****
Persephone has been raised in Olympus all her life - her mother absent, her father a cruel king, with her siblings teaching her all they know. She has seen all of what the gods and goddesses do and she is sick of it. When she learns her safety is threatened by staying in Olympus, she flees to the Underworld. There she stays until she learns that her leaving has caused the world to wilt. But leaving behind her newfound friends and Lady of the Underworld is something she will not do willingly, no matter the consequences.
[[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]]
Cover designed by Regina Dionela
Content Warning: Mentions of rape and incest