The Abduction of Persephone

A Blooming Heart

A day like any other—or well, it should've been, as it always was for the downcast and cold Hades, the King of The Underworld. That was a title bestowed upon him by his brothers, who let him handle the Underworld, a place dreary and cold, with lost, wayward souls. Hades, as dreary and cold as the Underworld itself, didn't protest on this position. His heart was as cold as his face, his body, and the Underworld: a heart so cold, it would make any Ice Giant jealous. And as any cold lord would do, he would always stay in his palace, watching souls come and go about his domain. But let's say today wasn't any ordinary day, let's say today would be a day for all days. Let's just say the Fates had a plan for him, and it started with a thunderous knock on the door.

The door, almost breaking off its hinges, though not really, roared thunderously. It could only be one person behind that door. The door opened by itself, perhaps it was magic, who knows. Out came a giant, thunderous man, who wailed, "Hades! It's been a while, older brother." He came in for an audience, walking towards the Lord, who hasn't left his palace in ages. "You should come by, when was the last time you left this... humble abode of yours?"

Hades stopped to think for a moment. Could it be months, years? He truly lost track of time. It had been a while since he had left his dark Underworld, and he had no reason to leave. What could be outside his domain that could be so important?

"Zeus," Hades put his hand to his cheek, gray skin cold, eyes downcast. "What could possibly be outside of these walls? This realm itself? What could I have an interest in besides these souls that come and go?"

"Perhaps you could find it." Zeus raised an eyebrow, his lips curving upward. "You haven't left this place in the Fates know how long, maybe you should get out more, see some nature for once? You'll die down here and who will know it?"

"What's the point of going up above? Mortals? Man destroying itself? The Gods who bring them peril, to make my job ever harder..." Hades stood up, his cloak falling down and as he walked, it trailed behind him. "What could possibly be up there for me, Zeus?"

Zeus put his hand on his chin, as if in deep thought. "What's the harm in trying?" He put his hand on his older brother's shoulder. "You've always said you cannot know something unless you try it. Take your own advice for once, Hades. Even if it's for five minutes, you'll be doing something, right? No one will even notice you're gone."

Hades stared at the thunder God before him, then removed the hand off his shoulder. He walked past his younger brother and to the giant door between him and the rest of the Underworld. "If this turns out to be a waste of time..." He didn't finish that sentence as he walked out. Of course, he had his doubts, which were giant in comparison to everything else. He doubted he would find anything worthwhile on the surface, but he might as well entertain the idea. He didn't want to be a hypocrite, after all.

So the two of them ascended upwards, to the surface. It was a lovely morning, with flowers blooming in the meadows. A leaf from a tree fell onto Hades' nose and immediately shriveled up and decayed. He wondered why he decided to come up here again, and took a look at the Thunder God. The sun was beaming on them, ever so brightly. It was just a meadow, nothing too special, Hades thought.

Zeus pushed him onward, getting him to actually start walking this time. There were a few people out and about. Was there a God party being set up, he thought. It seemed as if Zeus caught on to him, so he answered, "Yes, Hades. We decided to have a party in the mortal world. Before you say anything, it wasn't my idea."

Hades shook his head. "I didn't think it was, Zeus." He looked up at the sky, the sun being pulled along by a chariot. It was so bright, hurting the King's eyes. He really hadn't left his home in a while, so much that even a small thing like the sun would cause the Lord of the Dead some momentary blindness. It had barely been five minutes, and Hades already wanted to go home. He wanted to lay down, or sit, or do anything but be under such a bright sphere in the sky, and be on top of blades of grass that would shrivel at his touch.

As they kept on walking, he wanted to turn back, he wanted to go back into the Underworld and hide from this blasted sun. Zeus noticed how he was feeling, sighing to himself. "Come on, sit down for a moment, brother." The Thunder God sat down on some wood, as Hades stared down at him before sitting next to him. The Lord stared off to the side, his hand pressed on his gray cheek. He was regretting this more and more.

"I think it's just because you're not used to it. You're not used to being outside in fields of flowers, or having the sun beam down at you until you go blind, or tan, or both." Zeus kept on talking, but Hades had tuned him out as he kept on scanning the nearby area. He spotted some Gods he knew—Hera, Iris, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes... nothing out of the ordinary.

Of course, that was until his eyes fell on top of a woman he had never seen before. She had pink hair which fell down her back elegantly, and those eyes that captivated him eternally. Her attire was reminiscent of a water lily going into full bloom, giving rise to the beautiful being before him. He had never seen such beauty before in his life. It captivated him. It gave rise to something deep in his chest. Despite all his life feeling nothing but coldness, this feeling rising deep within his chest was warm and comforting.

He was so captivated by the sweet presence before him that he hadn't noticed Zeus calling him numerous times. When he finally did so, Zeus shouted into his face, "Hades! What are you thinking so hard about?"

Hades blinked numerous times to keep himself at bay. He placed his hand on where the warm feeling resided, to the left of his chest. It was tugging at him, and it was tugging hard. He stared back at the woman, who was picking flowers and placing them gently into a basket of straw, and asked, "Zeus, who is that?"

Zeus raised an eyebrow and his eyes went towards where Hades was staring. He too noticed the girl, but unlike Hades' aching, Zeus didn't feel any sort of feeling, good or bad, as he replied, "Who? Persephone?"

"Persephone..." Even the name itself filled Hades with this unnerving, odd feeling. It was so warm, so comforting, it felt like his entire chest had turned into a campfire. For the first time in his long life, Hades had felt... alive. He felt like there was a purpose to his long, drawn out existence. He had never, in his life, seen such beauty before. For the first time ever, the Fates had shined down on him, they had given him the opportunity to see the most beautiful flower in the world. A flower he was scared to touch, for it might shrivel and decay like all the rest. A flower he wanted to protect. No, no, not wanted to protect. He needed to protect. This wasn't a feeling of wanting, he needed that girl.

Zeus noticed the longing look in Hades' eyes as he looked at the pink haired Goddess. That was a look he had never seen on his brother's face for as long as he knew him. The Thunder God's lips curled into a smirk as he leaned back. "So you like my daughter, huh?"

Hades stammered a bit, not knowing what to say to that statement. Had he truly fallen for a Goddess he had only seen from afar? It was foolish. She could be the prettiest flower, but have the sharpest thorns. How was Hades to know otherwise?

"Relax, brother." Zeus hit Hades on his back, and smirked at him with sheepish eyes. "I could let you marry her if you so wish."

The words rang in Hades' head. Marrying her? His thoughts were consumed by the feeling of needing. This gentleness in his heart. He couldn't refuse it. He would have no other opportunity if he didn't accept it. But it seemed he didn't have to say anything. Zeus knew what he was thinking.

"You have my blessing. There's just one issue. Demeter." That name, the name of their sister who controlled the agriculture of the land, caused some coldness to seep back into Hades. "She can't know that you want to marry her daughter, or else you can say goodbye to ever seeing Persephone out and about. Ever." Zeus gave Hades a sly smile. "So what will it be?"

Hades stared endlessly into an abyss of thoughts. They were flooded with thoughts of Persephone, constantly streaming into his head, whether he wanted them to or not. The thoughts of her smiling face as she picked beautiful flowers, but none of them could compare to her beauty. Hades' heart, his cold, dead heart, had bloomed into a flower called love.