"Persephone?" The voice that instantly calms me and makes my heart leap with joy comes from behind me. My body instantly relaxes, and my mind quiets. He's here. Oh, how glad I am that he's here. I feel his hand gently land on my shoulder, and I turn to look up at him. When he sees me, his beautiful grey eyes fill with concern. "Persephone, what's happened? I thought you were happy when we separated. What's caused this?"

I stand and step closer to him, asking for his arms to wrap around me. His embrace comforts me immediately, and I rest my head on his chest, listens to the soothing beat of his heart. "I was, truly. I'm my happiest when I'm with you. It's not that at all. When I got home, my mother confronted me. Helios came to gossip." I feel his body stiffen around mine, but I don't know what he's feeling. Anger? Frustration? Fear? Shame? "She knows, Hades. She knows about us."

He doesn't say anything for so long that my mind begins to wander. What is he thinking? Is he thinking that this was all a mistake? Is he upset that we've been found out? Was the secrecy the only thing keeping him happy in a relationship with me? I feel my own body stiffen to match his. No - that can't be it. I know he is happy with me. My mother finding out would not change that.

"What did she say?" It's not a question of if she would be upset, rather how upset she was. Hades and I have talked about the possibility of this happening one day. I told him that if she ever found out, things would not go smoothly.

"She told me what she's always told me. She told me that you are evil, and cruel, and the Underworld is an ugly place that I would never be happy in. She told me there are other men out there that would be better suited for me." I whisper this last part, afraid of his reaction to it. Will he agree? Will he be so angry that I cannot calm him? I feel him stiffen under me even more, which I did not think possible.

"What did you say to her?" His voice is small, almost frightened. I realize in that moment that he's afraid of losing me, just as I am afraid of losing him. Though this is not how I imagined telling him, I know this is the perfect moment. I lift my head off of his chest and gaze into his grey eyes, so filled with emotion.

"I told her I love you, Hades." For an agonizing moment, his expression does not change, nor does he say anything. Then, slowly, he lifts his hand and caresses my face, a tender look enveloping his eyes.

"Did... did you mean it?" His voice is so vulnerable. Can he not tell that I am completely, and utterly taken by him? Since the moment I met him, there has never even been a thought of anyone else. He consumed me, body, mind, and soul. No one would ever compare. "I don't want you to feel obligated to say it if you do not truly feel it."

"Oh, Hades. Can't you tell? Nobody has ever made me smile the way you do, or laugh at the silliest things like you do. I've never searched a room for one particular face, and felt my heart leap into my throat when I see that face, or drop down to my stomach when I can't find it. I've never felt the need to be so perfect to impress someone, while feeling completely comfortable being myself. Hades, I am yours, if you'll have me."

His hand moves from my cheek to my chin, keeping my head in the perfect position for him to lean down and steal a kiss from my lips. He starts with a sweet, tender kiss, his lips gently brushing against mine. But as his hand travels down to my lower back, he pulls me tightly against him. My body was made to be against him, every curve of me fitting into all of his crevasses. I gasp in surprise, and he takes advantage of the moment and pushes his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues join in an ancient dance of passion and love, and in that instant, I know. He's been waiting for me to tell him that I love him, but never believed I could feel that way about him.

The kiss ends with both of us panting for air. His hand wraps itself into the hair at the back of my head, and his forehead rests against mine. His eyes stay closed, relishing in our passionate kiss, before opening and looking into mine, mirroring the love I'm showing in mine. "Persephone," he whispers quietly, "I love you more than life itself. You make me happier than I ever knew I could be."

We stare into each other's eyes for a while, neither of us willing to break the moment with words. Eventually, the crickets begin to chirp, and we know it's getting late. "I know we just spent the whole day together, but I don't want to be apart from you. When must you be home?"

I take a deep breath, and tell him the full truth of the conversation. "My mother and I have never fought before. She's angry, and so am I. I left, Hades. I left and didn't look back. I don't think she wants me to go back there if I'm not willing to obey her, which I'm not." My voice is firm as I finish my statement.

"I'm sure that's not true. Your mother loves you, and I'm sure she doesn't want you to leave." I think of the way she yelled my name out the door as I walked away. Her voice was utterly heartbroken as she realized I was leaving. "The decision is yours. Do you want to return to your mother, or not?"

I pause to think about it for a moment. Do I want to go back to the cottage? No. I will never hear the end of this. Mother will constantly berate me about Hades. She will continue telling me lies about him in an attempt to get me to hate him like she does. She will continue treating me like a child, maybe even more so since she hates the choice I have made. She will also do everything in her power to keep me away from Hades. My choice is easy, but it doesn't come without consequences. "No, I don't want to go back. I don't want to be around her for a while. But, if I don't go back, I won't have anywhere to go. That's been my only home since I was born. I wouldn't know where to go."

A smile graces his beautiful lips as he looks into my eyes. "You always have a home with me," he says sweetly.

"I-In the Underworld? I don't know, Hades..."

"Come with me. If you hate it there, we'll figure something else out. But for tonight, we can be together. Oh, Persephone, you have no idea how much I want to spend an entire night with you." His eyes spark with mischievous, and I wonder what could possibly be going through his mind. Could he mean...? No, surely not. But could I really do this? Go live in the Underworld with him, even if it is temporary? This was something that I never thought about throughout our time together, because I never imagined he could love me the way I love him. I'm the Goddess of Spring. I love the sunlight, flowers, everything bright and colorful about the Earth. Could I survive in the Underworld and all of its darkness for any length of time. I chew my lip and look towards the river, contemplating this decision.

I look back up into his eyes, so hopeful and longing. Yes, I can do this. I can do whatever it takes to be with this man, this God. My Hades. "Okay," I say simply. His face lights up with childlike glee. He holds his hand out to me, and I take it. It feels so small and dainty in his large grasp. 

"Are you ready?" Hades asks.

"Yes," I reply, sounding surer of myself than I am. And just like that, the river beside us vanishes, just as the feel of the grass on my toes does. We're no longer on Earth.