Pomegranate: A Hades and Persephone Tale

Walls of jagged rock confined me to the darkness. A darkness, that, for what seemed like a century had been my home.

My solitude.

My prison.

I missed the warmth of the summer sun on my skin, the musical laughter of my mother as she chased me around the fields on Olympus. The two of us playing innocent games together and talking for hours was something I longed to have returned to me. I missed my half-brother, absurdly, I missed him. His reciting of his poetry, as terrible as it was, his smile that was always bright and the warmth that radiated from him.

Warmth was not something the Underworld possessed. The only warmth that I came across was that of the Phlegethon. The river of fire that flows through Hades; however the warmth was not one of comfort. The heat that radiated from the river was one of searing pain, not like the gentle warmth from the mid-day sun.

“Persephone,” a masculine voice broke me from my thoughts. I ceased my steps slowly pivoting, watching as he advanced on me. In mere seconds he stood before me in all his Godly glory.

He towered above me dressed in a robe that swirled with the colours of darkness; black, grey and silver. The article of clothing exposed his muscular chest and arms. However like her father encircled around the gods wrists were cuffs, these made from black leather. His jet hair fell straight down his face brushing the tops of his shoulders. His skin ghastly pale from the millenniums spent locked away from the sunlight.

“Your Highness,” I greeted bowing gently before him masking my fear at his presence.

“I have a gift for you,” the words fell from his lips like smooth honey, easy, I was caught by surprise at his statement, so much so that I risked looking up at him. His dark eyes locking with my own, the only way I could compare the colour of his irises was they were like the colour of the night sky at midnight.

Dark and endless.

“You did not have to do that,” I spoke looking down as I moved nervously on my feet. The gold of my sandal contrasting drastically with the dark earth of the Underworld.

“I know,” he paused before heaving a heavy sigh, “Pers-Kore,” the usage of the name my mother had bestowed upon me at birth sounded strange and foreign falling from his lips. Ever since being stolen away from my mothers’ protection I had been bestowed with the name Persephone by my captor. “You may think what I did terrible, but I did what you asked,” I winced as he reminded me how all this had occurred. I would never admit it out loud but it was true Hades had answered my prayers. “You asked to be taken away from your overbearing mother and negligent father,” his tone was gentle. I had never imaged the Lord of the Underworld to posses such a talent. I had always assumed, like his siblings, he could only be loud and boisterous yet here he stood before me speaking in soft calming tones. “I did that did I not?”

I wanted to shake my head furiously and curse him for taking me. For fooling me into picking a flower and opening the portal into the Underworld, opening the portal that allowed him to ride out in his chariot of darkness and steal me away from my mother.

My home.

My comfort.

Everything I ever knew.

“Yes,” my words were a whisper. Tears welled in my eyes and I fought to suppress the sobs that were building in my chest.

Even though what the God was saying was true I didn’t want to think about it, I didn’t want to think that out of all the Gods and Goddesses there were it was he who answered my prayers.

For years, after entering womanhood, I had noticed how much my mother smothered me. As soon as she learnt of my monthly bleeding she changed from the woman I knew as a young girl. The warm coaxing and gentle pushing for me to interact with others ceased. Instead whenever another God approached her features hardened, lips drawn into a tight line, a fire igniting in her golden eyes. Whenever we had a visitor she had always made sure I wore a gown that covered as much of my bronzed skin as possible especially when males came to visit. Even my half-brother, Apollo, who I had spent my childhood playing in the cornfields with and listening as he played his music, was kept at a distance.

My mother became more and more like a shield when my body began to change. As my body grew into itself, as my hips widened and my waist shrunk, as my face lengthened slightly removing the roundness of my childhood. The worst for my mother was the swelling of my breasts, she tried her hardest to hide them from the naked eye underneath loose gowns however every few months the dress would be to small in the chest area and she would spend nights making new ones.

I spent my days sitting in my mothers’ fields picking wild flowers and swimming in lakes; my only company being the several nymphs that graced the waters. However on rare occasion she would grant me the opportunity to mingle with some of the other Goddesses.

Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite; it was always Aphrodite that set my mother on edge with her indecent dress, gowns that were mere ribbons around her perfectly curved body, I noticed the way her eyes darkened sparks flying in her irises in distaste. Athena and Artemis dressed in Peplos covering their bodies from the eyes of man. The moments I shared with these women were filled with laughter, gossiping and the occasional song. For those few hours I am able to be a woman, and enjoy the company of others other than my mother and water nymphs; however my mother never left I could always see her lurking in the shadows out of the corner of my eyes.

Every once and a while as I sat in shade of the large willows around the lake making bright, vibrant flower crowns and wreaths of wheat I would be greeted by Hermes as he took news to my mother.
The God always greeted me with a cheeky smile and a friendly manner, however it was too friendly for my mother’s liking. When she caught the two of us sitting beside the lake talking pleasantly, laughing and joking about the mortals, she had been enraged. She began shouting out absurd assumptions about the God, claiming that he wanted to corrupt her ‘daughter’ to take my innocence. I tried to tell her the truth, that we were merely talking nothing more but she would hear none of it.
I was certain Hermes would have been killed had Zeus not shown up ceasing my mothers’ actions and the assumptions she continued to throw around. He had put a stop to everything simply by listening to both Hermes and I, he dismissed the God ordering him back to his temple for Hera needed his assistance before taking my mother and walking with her and talking in hushed tones.

I had never been more humiliated and hurt in all my life, I wanted to chase after the fading God and apologise for my mothers’ actions, for her words, for everything. Instead I stood still looking out of the lake tears obscuring my vision.

It was that day that a dark bitterness formed inside me. An anger for my mother and her incessant smothering, my father and his lack of acknowledgement of me. It was that day I decided that I had had enough, I wanted to get away and I wanted to get away as soon as I could.

Weeks passed and I kept to myself as much as I could, I was still mad at my mother for what she had done to Hermes. She had not apologised for her actions and I knew she had no intentions to. So I had no intentions of acting as if everything between us was fine.

I was caught by surprise when Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena appeared before me, the three of them smiling down at me as I weaved a daisy chain together. From the look in their eyes they were up to something, something my mother wasn’t aware of.

That was the night I was sneaked into one of the biggest celebrations I had ever been to. I had heard of Dionysus celebrations being big and bright but I had never imagined them to be as big as they were the night I appeared with the three goddesses.

Naturally as soon as Aphrodite entered all the males in the room turned to bask in her beauty while Athena, Artemis and myself were easily looked over. Whenever the goddess of love was in the room no other woman stood a chance in gaining male attention.

I remember the smell of sweat, alcohol and sex that filled the air.

The night started off well, the three of us gossiped together for hours, laughing and joking. Occasionally my eyes would wander around gazing at all the mortals that were at this party, both male and female. That was until Athena left walking over to make small conversation with a Satyr leaving Artemis and myself alone.

That was when things started to change, for the worse.

Artemis and myself had continued talking laughing at all the dunk mortals and gods that stumbled around the pavilion. That was when I caught sight of Dionysus himself staring at the two of us over the rim of his goblet.

There was denying the God of wine and parties was a beautiful being. Mahogany coloured hair, sculptured features and dazzling blue eyes like his father. In his drunken state he walked over and began flirting shamelessly. Artemis slapped him firmly across the face when he made a vulgar comment about her gown before spinning and walking off leaving me with the drunken host.

At first it was bearable, his sweet voice listing off the beauty of my features, however when he pressed himself against me whispering in my ear as his hands travelled down my sides I began to feel sick, my insides twisting with discomfort. I tried to excuse myself and find Athena but as soon as I stepped away he had gripped my upper arm tightly pulling me back into his hard chest. I didn’t have a chance to protest before he had slung me over his shoulder laughing at my screams.

As he lead me out into the night I screamed for help, I screamed for Apollo, for Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite. I even screamed for Zeus anyone who could help me. I punched the gods back, it did nothing but cause him to laugh louder.

Once outside under the night sky I was thrown to the ground, the force of the impact causing me to loose my breath. As I fought to regain my breath I tried to escape but his hands clamped onto my ankles as he pulled me closer to him. His eyes were dark and filled with lust; he looked at me like a lion does its prey. He was filled with a hunger that needed to be fulfilled.

I begged and pleaded for him to let me go to let me be, that simply caused him to laugh at my struggle and state before forcing himself onto me his lips attaching to mine as his hands travelled up my legs moving the soft material as he went. Biting his lip was the only thing I could think of at the time so I did as hard as I could. Roaring he pulled away from me before his open palm came down onto my cheek, a burst of pain spread across the side of my face causing tears to form in my eyes. However even with a bleeding lip that didn’t stop him he continued his torture on me.

When I thought there was nothing left to do but wait and endure the pain the ground underneath me shook violently causing the god to lift himself up and look around. A rumble under the earth sounded in my ears, like the sound of a thousand stallions racing across the ground, the thundering sound was interrupted by another sound, the sound of choking. Looking up a scream burst from my lips at the sight before me.

Dionysus choked; the colour from his face had vanished, he clawed at his throat desperately as if a chord had been wrapped around it, slowly cutting off his oxygen. Another scream left my lips as I watched his body go sailing through the air hitting the ground a few meters away from me. He lay there unmoving and silent.

“Come with me,” my eyes were stuck on the, now, unmoving god to register who had spoken to me. It wasn’t until I was being pulled through the darkness and placed atop a chariot I looked at who my saviour was.

“Your mother will not be pleased with your disobedience,” he spoke his words deep and smooth. Dread filled my body at the god that stood before me cloaked in darkness.

“L-Lord H-Hades.”

“Yes child,” he paused turning to look at me his eyes locking with mine, endless pools of darkness.

“There is no need to be afraid. I do not wish to hurt you, like the idiotic God Dionysus. You’re mother is worried, she has all her siblings out searching for you.”

“Even my father?” my tone was no higher then a whisper as I looked down at the dark metal of his chariot.

“Yes young Kore even your Father,” when I looked up I saw a ghost of a smile on his face. I was stunned into a silence. My father had got off his pedestal and was out searching for me, the daughter he paid little attention to. “He does love you Kore,” the Lord of the Underworld stated as if he could read my thoughts, “My brother has a strange way of showing his love for his children.”

I didn’t have a chance answer before I heard my name being called through the darkness of the night. I was pulled off Hades chariot by my mothers’ arms as she wrapped me in her embrace, her lips pressing kiss to the top of my head and my cheeks.

“Thank you brother,” Zeus spoke, his tone deep and seeping with authority. Between the masses of kisses my mother was bestowing upon me I saw the dark haired god nod his head at his brother before his eyes locked with mine a half smile spreading across his face as he bowed gently.

“Demeter, Kore,” with that he pulled the reigns of his chariot and sped off into the night.
That was the beginning of everything.

Everything would change after that night.