Sometime later, I vaguely hear Hades speaking to me, but I'm so lost in a story about yet another affair Zeus had with a mortal woman that I don't pay him much attention.
"Are you going to be ready for lunch soon?" he inquires.
"Sure," I respond, still distracted, not even bothering to lift my head.
"Does salmon and vegetables sound okay? Maybe some baklava afterwards?"
"Mhm," I answer curtly, ready for him to stop talking. I don't want to be distracted from this book.
"Maybe we could invite your mother to join us for lunch," he muses. I just nod my head. He chuckles, and I can hear him get out of his chair. He comes over to stand in front of me and lifts my chin, forcing me to stop reading. "Did you hear anything I was saying, or was your book too interesting? What are you reading?" he asks.
"Just a story about one of Zeus' affairs," I answer him, finally contributing to the conversation. Though the book was interesting, nothing can capture my attention more than the glint of humor in his eyes.
"There's been so many of those, I don't even know how they keep track of them all. My brother isn't exactly known for his discrepancy, nor loyalty to Hera." At this last part, he sounds almost bitter. I know he's not best friends with Hera, but they have a mutual respect for each other. In an attempt to steer him back to his happy mood, I close the book and put it on the new side table.
"You were saying something about feeding me?" I remind him, and just then, my stomach lets me know that I've ignored it for a little bit too long. He chuckles and holds out his hand to me. I take it, and he pulls me off of the couch and into his waiting arms. He places a light kiss on the end of my nose and smiles at me.
"Come on," he says, and begins to lead me out of the room.
"Just don't let go of my hand, I might get lost again," I tease. He looks at me quizzically, not understanding my joke. "I got lost when I tried to find your office earlier. That's why I was with Hecate, she showed me the way. What's she like, by the way? Our interaction was very brief."
A moment of silence passes as he thinks of a suitable response. "She's fiercely loyal to those she cares about, and it's true what they say about getting on her bad side. She shows no mercy. But she cares very much for the souls placed in her care, and gives them fair judgement to the best of her ability. Our jobs keep us separated mostly, so I don't get to spend much time with her."
"I thought you were in charge of sorting the souls?" I ask him.
"I am," he responds, " but as Lord of the Underworld, I have an entire realm to look after. If I sorted souls all by myself, that would be all I would have time for. Hecate takes over most of the sorting to allow me free time to work on other important matters, and I help when she doesn't trust her judgment, or when there's a soul that's been truly evil in their lifetime and I need to pick a punishment."
I try to process his words. Hades has always been so tender with me. Sweet smiles, sneaking away from parties just to hold me in his arms, bringing me flowers on rare occasions when we plan an outing together. And last night, offering me his own bed to stay in, and not allowing me to pleasure him because he wants it to be perfect when it happens. Can this sweet, delicate man really be responsible for the horrible punishments that happen in this realm? I can't believe it. I look up at him, and something in my eyes must tell him what I'm thinking.
"I don't enjoy inflicting punishment, but it's part of the job. I try to be lenient whenever I can, but I also have a reputation I need to uphold. If people think I'm soft, they'll commit more crimes in their lifetime, and the other gods will see me as weak." His voice is hard as he speaks. He's ending the conversation there, telling me that the way he rules is not up for discussion.
While I hate to think of him being cruel to people, I'm glad I get the kind side of him. I never want to see him hardened and angry. I don't want to see the man mother told me about to scare me.
We continue the rest of our walk in silence, until we reach the dining room I saw last night. This time, we walk in and I get to see the full room. This is one of the rooms with burgundy colored walls, will elaborate paintings scattered across them in no particular order. The table is long and could probably hold thirty people if it needed to. It's made of dark, beautiful wood with elegant carvings like the side table Hades produced for me. The chairs surrounding the table are made of the same wood, and the backs of them are so high that no amount of height could make a person reach the top when they're sitting down. The chairs on each end stand out, being even bigger than the others, and having red roses carved into the design. I release Hades hand and stroll over to the end chair closest to me, running my finger along one of the rose carvings. They're so perfectly carved, they almost look as if there are actual roses scattered along the chair.
Roses are such delicate flowers, they have always been something that my powers have struggled with. Too much or too little if my power kills them almost instantly. But on the rare occasions I give then just the perfect amount of power, they grow into beautiful bushes of red, pink, and sometimes white roses. They're my favorite to work on because I feel in control when I succeed in growing them.
Out of a door in the corner comes a woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun, wearing a long black dress that's slightly too big for her. She's holding a try full of food and her eyes never leave the tray, showing her submission to her Lord. She must be one of the servants in the castle.
Hades clears his throat and addresses the servant. "Please leave the tray on the table, I will do the rest." She does as he asks and begins to leave the room. "Thank you," he adds as an afterthought. She gives a curt nod, still not looking up at him. When she's gone, he turns his attention to me. He looks shy as he says, "One day I hope you will occupy this chair through dinners and meetings and whatever else we may use the dining room for. But for right now, I don't want to be at opposite ends of the table. I want you to sit next to me." He pulls out one of the side chairs for me, but I'm left standing there staring at him in shock. What does he mean he wants me to be at the head of the table? We're only dating! If we're even doing that, we've never put a label on it.
He sighs, as if he was hoping he wouldn't have to elaborate right now. "Persephone, it can't be that shocking to you. What do you think we're doing? My intention is not to keep you as someone that I'm seeing, but rather to one day make you my wife, my queen. To have you rule the Underworld, by my side. Have I not made my affections obvious?"
"You have, I just didn't think..." I pause, trying to think of the proper words. "I just didn't think, is all. I was so busy being caught up in my time with you that I didn't even think of where this could possibly go."
"Well, then, let me make my intentions known," he asserts in a deep, husky voice. "One day, I will ask you to be my wife. If you say yes to me, we will marry, and you will become my Queen. Queen of the Underworld. You will be my equal in all things, my partner in eternal life. And, if luck be on our side, we may even raise a family together. That is what I want out of this relationship, Persephone. I want a future with you." His declaration makes my knees weak. Is that what I want from this relationship? Yes! My subconscious screams at the top of her lungs. Children with Hades?
"Well, then, let me make my intentions known," he asserts in a deep, husky voice. "One day, I will ask you to be my wife. If you say yes to me, we will marry, and you will become my Queen. Queen of the Underworld. You will be my equal in all things, my partner in eternal life. And, if luck be on our side, we may even raise a family together. That is what I want out of this relationship, Persephone. I want a future with you." His declaration makes my knees weak. Is that what I want from this relationship? Yes! My subconscious screams at the top of her lungs. Children with Hades?
"Why, Hades, to start a family, you'd have to stop pushing aside my advances," I whisper huskily into his ear. He stiffens at my remark, and I'm almost afraid of his reaction until he gives me a sly smirk.
"I fully intend to, I just need you to be wild first," he declares. "Now, let's sit and eat this food before it gets cold." He changes the subject quickly, letting me know we are done with this line of conversation.
Like a true gentleman, he pulls out a seat and motions for me to sit. I do, and he pushes the chair into the table before taking his own seat right next to me. He lifts the lid off of the large tray and on it sit two plates, each with a piece of salmon and a handful of asparagus. He places one of the plates in front of me before placing the other in front of himself and pushing the tray off to the side. The waitress comes back with another tray holding two glasses of ice water and a glass pitcher to refill our glasses if we need to. She places a glass in front of each of us and the pitcher off to the side and scurries out of the room with her tray.
Hades waits for me to take the first bite before he digs in to his own food. We eat in silence for a few minutes, both of us enjoying the meal and each other’s company. Suddenly, he put his silverware down and regards me before saying, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” I answer warily.
He takes a moment to think of how to word his question before finally blurting out, “Do you plan to speak to your mother anytime soon? I know this is tearing you up inside, and you can’t avoid her forever.”
At his question, I set my silverware down as well. My appetite has vanished, nowhere to be found. I stare blankly at the table for a while, trying to gather my thoughts. I’ve been trying not to think about this since last night happened, because I don’t know what I plan to do. “I’m not ready to see her,” I state firmly. “I don’t know when I will be, but I do know that I need answers before I’m willing to talk to her again.”
He looks at me quizzically, but stays silent, deciding whether he can ask me something or not. Finally, he says, “May I ask what questions you need answers to? Maybe I could help. I’ve known Demeter for a very long time.”
I think over his offer. I would truly appreciate it if he could help me find some answers, but some things I don’t think he would be able to answer without showing some bias. So, I decide to stick to questions that need a straightforward answer, with no opinions. “Throughout my childhood, I grew up with stories of you from my mother. But, not this you. The you that my mother told me about was dark, evil, cruel. She would tell me things like how you would sit down here and unfairly judge souls all day, sending everyone you possibly could to an eternal punishment, and then when you were done with that, you would go to the mortal realm and torment the people there, just for extra fun. She told me that you had dogs to help you protect the Underworld, but that you treat them like dirt, and the only reason they stay is because they can’t leave. She would tell me stories about how you would go to the mortal realm and kidnap women, just to bring them back here and rape them for days on end until they would eventually beg for death, and then you’d send them to eternal punishment because they didn’t please you for long enough.”
I can see the anger growing with each example of the stories mother told me, so I decide it would be best to stop there. “I know you’re not like that. I know that you are kind, and gentle, and you obviously don’t have to kidnap women to get them here, because I came very willingly,” I tease to lighten the mood. “But, why would she say such things about you? What happened between the two of you that made her hate you so much?”
He sighs and looks defeated, as if he was hoping this wouldn’t be a question I ask. But I need to know his side of the story. He looks at a point over my shoulder, avoiding eye contact. After a few minutes of silence, I decide he’s not going to answer me and I’m about to tell him not to worry about it. But just then, he begins his story.
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