Persephone's Story

Chapter Two

“H-hello, Hades,” I said respectfully, dropping my eyes to the ground at once. I looked back up for a second and found myself entranced by his eyes once again. How could a man with such captivating features turn out to be the devil himself?

“Hello, Persephone,” he said with a smile as he strode over to where I was sitting. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” I said as he sat down beside me.

“Why have you been following me?” I asked quietly. It was no secret that Hades could drag whoever he wanted down to the Underworld, god or not. Everyone was afraid of him, including me. He turned his coal black eyes to me.

“I think you know why, my dear,” he said.

“Have you come to take me to the Underworld?” I asked with fear in my voice. I looked away quickly when I said this.

“No, I came to see you...only to see you,” he said quietly as he leaned in and grabbed a lock of my hair. He smiled as he rubbed it between his fingers. “You have such beautiful hair.”

I smiled and couldn’t help the blush that crept onto my cheeks as he said this. “Thank you.”

He suddenly released my hair and stood up, offering his hand to me. I took it and gasped when I realized just how cold it was; cold as death. He released my hand and reached behind his back, pulling out a black rose.

“I, uh, I got this for you. I know how much you like flowers,” he said before turning around and walking back to where he came from, disappearing almost as quickly as he did in the meadow. I gazed down at the black rose in my hand and smiled, wondering when I would see him again.

“Persephone! Persephone!” I heard one of the nymphs call me, interrupting the peacefulness that I felt only a moment earlier.

“I am here,” I answered back, standing up with my basket of flowers. I gently placed the rose on the top of my basket. The blonde nymph appeared from behind a cluster of trees and walked over to me.

“I was wondering what had happened to-hey, where did you find that?” she asked, pointing at the rose.

“Uh, in the woods,” I lied. I knew that if I told anyone it would get back to my mother, and she was dead set against me ever finding a man, mortal or god. She did however, teach me one thing: only accept a gift from a man when you want to encourage his affection, and I definitely wanted to see Hades again. When I heard tales of him, they were all about how cruel and dark he was, but the god I had seen a few moments earlier was nothing like that. He was sweet, kind and had the most alluring eyes.

When I got back home mother took my basket of flowers and replaced it with another basket. “Go and get some vegetables, Persephone.”

I walked out into the garden in the back and pulled up a few potatoes and picked a few of the ripest apples, then put them into the basket and walked back inside. I set the basket down on the table and looked up at my mother to see her curiously inspecting my black rose. Oh, no.

“Where did you find this, Persephone?” she asked.

“Um, I found it in the woods. Why?” I lied.

“I’ve never seen this before, and I know I didn’t create it,” she said slowly, giving me a skeptical look. I just shrugged and she sighed, putting the rose back in my basket.

“Persephone, did anybody visit you while you and the nymphs were picking flowers?” she asked as she took the basket of potatoes and apples and began to prepare a meal.

“No,” I lied quickly. I knew my mother didn’t approve of any young men trying to woo me; she surely wouldn’t approve of the god of the Underworld seeing me or giving me gifts. I took my basket to my room and carefully picked up the black rose before placing it in a glass vase by my hammock. I laid down on my hammock and gazed at the rose. It was so different from all the other flowers on the earth, and that’s what made it so beautiful, just like the giver of the lovely rose.

I wondered if I would see Hades tomorrow. I suppose I could always just go back to that meeting place by the pond and wait for him there. Perhaps he had heard of how my mother rejected all the other god’s who took an interest in me and didn’t want to end up like them. I smiled to myself. He need not worry about my mother, I could have just as easily seen the other gods if I wanted too, but none of them captured my heart as Hades had done with just a single rose.

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The next day I snuck away from the forest nymphs while we were picking berries from a thicket of bushes near the field, and went to the pond in the woods. I sat down and dipped my toes in the water just like before and waited. Just waited.

As I sat there and gazed at the small ripples in the water I pulled a few strands of long grass growing on the bank and began to weave them together. I was placing water lilies in between the braids when a dark figure emerged from behind a tree to my right. When he saw me sitting on the rock his pale lips curved into a smile.

“I was hoping you would be here, my dear.”

“I was hoping to see you here too.”

He sat down next to me and stared at the grass crown in my hands.

“I made this while I was waiting,” I explained, then placed it on his head with a swift motion. I giggled when he made a confused face and at the sight of a crown of flowers on top Hades head. It was a strange sight indeed, and one I knew I probably would never see again.

After a few minutes of silence I pulled my feet out of the water and drew them up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees.

“Hades, why do you come here to see me and then say nothing?” I asked curiously. He let out a sigh and leaned forward.

“I am a man of little words. It’s a dark and lonely place in hell, with no one to talk to except the lost souls,” he said with a frown.

“What is the Underworld like? I have only heard stories.”

“It’s dreary and gloomy. That’s why when my brothers and I divided up the three realms, we had to cast lots. No one wanted the Underworld, so I was the unlucky one who got it,” Hades explained, and when he looked over at me he smiled a little. “But it is not so bad, my dear. The Elysian Field are a paradise far greater than anything on this earth, but Rhadamanthys rules over the great heroes that reside there.”

“I would like to see the Underworld sometime,” I said. Hades gave me a skeptical look and raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

I nodded in response.

“Well I would be glad to show you sometimes, my dear. Although I am sure once you have seen it, you will never want to go back, or at least not back to my domain,” Hades said solemnly.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” I asked with a smirk, causing Hades to return the smile. “You know, people always told me you were scary.”

“Well I bring dead souls to either their eternal torment or eternal felicity. I guess that can be pretty frightening for some mortals,” he said with a grin and I laughed.

“Persephone, where are you?!” a slightly nervous voice cried out from somewhere in the forest. It was one of the nymphs.

“Oh, no. Hades, you can’t be seen with me!” I said quickly, jumping to my feet. “You have to go!”

“Why?” he asked, slowly standing up.

“Because if my mother finds out I’m seeing you she’ll make us move again, and I don’t want to leave you,” I said, looking up at him.

“Don’t worry, my dear. If it ever came to that I would scour the earth for you. I will see you tomorrow at this place,” he said. I nodded and glanced back to where the voice was coming from.

I turned back to say goodbye to Hades and instead felt his lips on mine. For a split second I felt the world stop spinning and all I could feel was the coldness of his lips against mine...and it felt good.

And all too suddenly, it was over. Everything seemed to speed up and when I blinked Hades was gone and I felt instead, a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see the black haired nymph with a worried expression on her face.

“Oh, Persephone, we were so worried about you when we realized you were missing!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, I am sorry for worrying you. I will tell you next time I decided to wander off,” I said with an innocent expression. She nodded and turned back to the trail and I followed her. She chattered on about all the berries she and the other forest nymphs had found, but I could follow along, I was too distracted by the thoughts of Hades that filled my mind.
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Chapter two and I already have three subscribers! You guys are awesome! =D