Chapter Two

“As much as I like for you to let yourself go, you cannot wonder in the woods naked. Someone could take advantage of you.”

“Again, mother. I didn’t feel good and so I soaked a little to find relieve.”

Cyane is preparing the food they will eat shortly meanwhile Demeter is just breaking nervously breaches for the fire.

She felt something today, someone was in her woods with Persephone, but she swears she saw no one. Yet, this weird feeling does not go away. She is sure bad things will happen briefly nevertheless, her daughter never lied to her, so she must have faith.

If only she knew, the God of death himself let her go because he has no powers in her mother’s land and not because of his good heart, she would not be so light-hearted. Hades reputation is not good in the living world. No one ever says his name too afraid to catch his attention and so humans go on with their existence avoiding calling his gaze upon them for as long as they can manage.

A knock startles the three women. Cyane smiles, happy to see somebody new for a change and flies to the door.

“Visitors? Finally.” Demeter shifts uncomfortable on her chair, worried glances fly towards her sometimes naïve child as she is reading some poets letters while nibbling at raspberries.

“Demeter!” A loud manly chuckle fills the room and Demeter senses a bolt from Zeus itself shake her.

“Zeus?” The tall tanned man nods and rushes to hug his petite lover who looks way too embarrassed.

“Father?” Persephone hugs him tightly. It has been so long since she saw him and she genuinely missed him.

“What are you doing here? Demeter asks sceptical.

“I’m here to see my family.”

“In that case you took the wrong turn; your wife doesn’t live here.” Persephone never saw her mother be so…like her. Demeter always told her to respect Gods and never be irreverent and now there she is, answering face to face to the father of all Gods as if she has nothing to lose. The truth is that Demeter is acting like a lioness sending warning signals to the outsider. If he so much tries to land a hand on her cub, she’ll go for his jugular.

Persephone will not admit it but is very proud of her mother.

“Make it short, Zeus. What do you want?” The powerful God does not answer, instead he let his eyes fall on the young women sst near the fire in a very understanding way.

“Persephone, darling. Would you leave us for a short moment?” Zeus tone is soave and somehow morbid. She’s not buying any of this.

Demeter flushes with rage and commands Cyane to take Persephone out of the room. They do not even make it to the door that the screams of the goddess start to rage, shaking the house.

“You came all the way here, for what?” Silence falls behind them before Demter behins again. “You bloody….”

“I’ve never seen her so angry.” Cyane laughs as she take Persephone on a walk, like she would with a little dog. This makes Persephone a little mad. She’s tired of being excluded by every matter because considered too young.

“That’s because no one has come to claim you. Why do you think your mother lives her, young girl? She isolated herself to keep you safe and when the time comes, find you a suitable husband that will take good care of you.”

Persephone never thought of the possibility. She never saw herself married because her mother never did and she was happy. The girl wanted to be like her mother, content with her garden and her job.

She knows many women who have fallen in the trap and live miserably, Hera to name one. Zeus keeps cheating on her and she is constantly seeking for ravage. That is not a healthy relationship at all.

“Go to the lake Pergusa, I’ll check on your mother to see what Zeus is up too.” Persephone agrees.

The sky is getting grey, the hair of Hades flashes over her eyes but she quickly dismisses the thought.

She must do something to peace things with him. He must be mad at her for mistaken him. Once at the lake, Persephone starts to look for berries she could eat in the meantime.

While using her skirt to collect them, she finds a bush full hidden behind a tree and so she sits there but the berries in her made-up basket roll away and she has to bend and retrieve them, she is very hungry.

Her eyes find something else while seeking for fruit. It’s a Narcissus with golden petals and a red core. It seems made of little precious shiny stones and velvet stalk.

Her mother would like it very much so she decides to pluck it.

She reaches for the stalk and rips it from its roots. As she brings the flower to her nose to smell it, the earth beneath her opens and swallows her, causing her to fall for a long time.

Panic screams leave her lips while fire burns her vest, almost getting to her skin.

She crushes into the ground rising a cloud of dirt. Whispers echo, thousands of voices some mumbling from afar and some seem to talk right next to her.

She coughs and rushes to cover her naked breasts while peeking around, trying to understand where she is.

Persephone does not need to wonder for too long since someone is standing right in front of her ready to welcome her.

The dark Lord and his yellow eyes are focused towards her and Persephone swears she catches a glimpse of amusement inside of them. The girl blinks confused, something is off with him but she cannot quite understand what. It’s only when her sight raises that she gazes at his hair to find the flaw. The once candid head now looks like raven plumage, soft and so straight it looks made of silk.

He is not wearing any coat, just a nightgown loosely hanging over his shoulders leaving a large part of his chest in plain sight.

Funny how the Lord of death looks mortal in his realm, where he is supposed to be invincible?

He does not hesitate. Loosens the knot of his gown and hands it to the red-head girl.

Persephone does not want to take it. She knows that anything she touches might bound her to stay in the Underworld. Her mother told her the rules when she was very little yet she can’t quite recall some of them. However, she feels too uncovered with her torn-up dress so she decided to accept the offer of the God and carefully slides her arms in the too big gown.

It is so light, it feels like she is not wearing anything yet the second she wears it, she stops sweating as if that dark cloth could somehow protect her from hell itself. She feels oddly safe in it.

Hades turns around, letting her gaze at his titanic back and moves forward without saying anything. She starts seeking for an escape. Her mother is probably worrying sick and she has no way to tell her she is fine.

Well, fine… I mean… she went to hell. Let us just say she is alive. For now.

A gust of wind makes her hair fly to her face and a guttural sound breaks from her left. A jaw clicks only inches away from her throat and she jumps a step back.

“Cerberus.” A soothing sound escapes the god’s lips, so lenitive even the hysterical heart of Persephone’s calms down. Hades advances, slow and inevitable as blue flames enlightens the path uncovering a large ballroom and an even bigger three-headed kind of dog.

“We don’t bite guests.”