Hades, My King

Feather light touches and deep whispers came forward from the darkness. A dream or a memory, Persephone wasn’t sure. It was like sparks ignited across her skin as fingers trailed from her neck to her chest, across her breasts and then down between her thighs to the most private part of her.

“Please!” She heard herself beg, breathless and unsure.

Around her there was nothing but warmth and darkness as she gasped, breathing in the scent of wood ash and lavender.

“Please!” Persephone begged again, not knowing exactly what she was begging for.

“My queen, return to me.” A deep, hauntingly familiar voice commanded, making her heart jump in her chest.

She knew that voice. It belonged to someone, someone she loved. Someone who loved her, but who was it? Who was it that was calling to her and why did he sound so sad? The smells around her pulled her in, drawing her the depths of her mind, forcing her to remember what she had been made to forget.

Eyes, blue as the deepest oceans, hair blacker than a starless night sky. His face began to take shape, a defined jaw, sharp eyes like a predator skin so similar to her own only slightly darker.. She could almost feel the hard lines of his body pressing into her own.

She felt herself suck in a sharp breath and whispered, “Hades.”

“Stupid child!” another voice yelled and the darkness morphed to familiar surroundings as the dream melted away and persephone was once again in the waking world..

“Mother.” She heard herself whisper and Demeter came into her view and a sharp pain shot through her head making her fall to her knees.

Persephone gritted her teeth and sucked air in through her nose, trying not to scream at the intrusion into her mind.

“Mother please! Make it stop! Please!” Persephone cried, tears filling her celestial green eyes as she sat clutching her head. She could feel the dream from before fading, being forgotten.

“You will obey me, child. You’ll never see that pathetic excuse for a god again, do you hear me? You will obey! You will forget!” Demeter scolded, her voice practically dripping with venom as she enacted yet another curse on her daughter.

Persephone peered up at her mother through her tears and saw the Goddess looking down at her, her soft brown hair falling around her in waves, her once kind brown eyes filled with malice, and cried. The mother she looked upon now was not the same woman who had raised her. They were like night and day. The woman she once knew was full of life and happiness. The woman she saw now was full of hatred and anger.

Persephone just wanted it to be over. The same cycle repeated for years. She would sleep and dream of her life in the underworld at her husband’s side. She would dream of days full of life and nights of passion and then just when her happiness finally started to return and she had begun to remember her love, her mother would appear and rip it away.

Persephone closed her eyes, grasping at the final threads of her dream but it was no use. They slipped away, leaving Persephone feeling cold, alone and broken.

Demeter looked down on her daughter and frowned. Her daughter’s once lively green eyes were empty and lifeless. The strawberry, auburn hair that used to flow around her in beautiful waves now hung down, a dull mass of tangles. Her daughter no longer looked like the Goddess of spring. She looked almost mortal.

Demeter curled her lip in disgust as Persephone fell onto her side, her sobs subsiding now as she no longer remembered what she was mourning.

“One day you will thank me.” Demeter spoke, almost as if it was a command and then turned and left the room that had become Persephone’s prison so long ago.

A bell chimed behind Persephone as another customer entered the small coffee shop she often came to when she needed a break from her room mate’s constant nagging. Vallya meant well but she could be a bit much, so like she had done many times before, Persephone has grabbed her bag and her laptop and made her way here to her little haven.

“Vanilla latte, double shot extra whipped cream.” A voice called out and Persephone stepped forward offering the barista a warm smile as she took her drink and made her way around the other patrons toward the sunny window seats.

The hard seats were not at all comfortable but the view of the sun shining down off of the windows of the buildings nearby, made it worth it as she tried to come up with her next story. It was one of her favorite views and the seats also happened to be good for people watching when she couldn’t think of anything to write, which happened often.

Persephone lifted her drink to her lips and gave a delighted sigh as the warm, sweet liquid made her taste buds sing. The sweet caffeinated drinks had become a guilty pleasure of hers since she had discovered her love of writing and her despair of battling writer’s block. Caffeine always helped. Caffeine was life at this point. Coffee practically flowed through her veins.

The happy chatter of the other patrons and staff faded into the background as she opened her laptop and got to work on her latest children's book. It was a story she had been dreaming about for months now. A handsome kind who found a beautiful princess dancing in a flower filled meadow. He swept her away to his kingdom and they were married but their happiness was short lived but for the life of her Persephone couldn’t remember the rest. The dream always turned to darkness. It always faded into cold nothingness. The king and his queen never got their happy ending.

Persephone stared at her screen, willing the words to come to her but nothing worked. She let out a frustrated huff and sat back on the stool. Glancing out of the window, she watched people walk by on their phones, tapping away at the screens oblivious to the world and beauty around them. A woman with short, pixie cut, brown hair who was wearing a smart, gray three piece suit. An older man with a beer gut whose cheeks were flushed as he huffed and made his way across the street. Another younger woman who looked like a straight up yoga instructor, power walking with a group of similarly dressed women. A….wait.

Across the street was a slightly blurry figure that stood out among the rest. She had her curly brown hair pulled up into an elegant up-do and she was wearing what Persephone would describe as a costume for a Greek party, except it was bolder with golden swirls and a jeweled pin at her breast, keeping it together.. What really caught Persephone's attention were her eyes. Bright Yellow eyes that seemed to peer through the reflective glass window and straight into Persephone's soul. Try as she might, she couldn’t look away from the strange woman. The world around her became dead silent as time itself seemed to stop and nothing else mattered in this moment.

The woman smiled as spoke, clear as day, as if she was standing next to Persephone instead of across the street.

“Do not be frightened, child. It is time for you to return. He is waiting.” Her strangely calming voice danced across Persephone’s mind.

Return, Persephone thought, Return to where? Who is waiting? What’s going on? Persephone couldn’t help but be confused. How was the woman talking to her? And why was her head suddenly throbbing?

“Return to your fate, child. Your king awaits.” The woman spoke again, her voice fading as her image blurred then vanished into thin air. The sounds of the busy café once again filled the space around her.

Persephone blinked then looked away from the street and glanced around her. Nothing seemed out of place and no one seemed like they had noticed the odd exchange. The ache in her head was suddenly gone as well. Picking up her drink she frowned, wondering if someone had drugged it or something.

“Maybe I’ve been having too much caffeine and not enough sleep.” She mumbled then set the cup down and sighed. She looked back at her computer screen and decided since she couldn’t write she would do some research instead. Maybe she would find something interesting to occupy her frazzled mind.

After a few quick Google searches later, she found herself on a web page for a charity auction that was being hosted downtown at the Olympian, a popular upscale hotel.

An open banquet would be available as well as an auction that would fund treatments for children suffering with cancer and their families. All proceeds would be going to a local charity that funded such things. The event was going to be featured in the local press for sure as several big names had apparently RSVPed to the event.

The page showed several pictures of a grand hall and what she assumed was a ballroom. There were also a few pictures of some VERY attractive men and women posing for pictures at last year’s charity event. The people looked otherworldly almost, like some sort of glow just resonated out of them. Strange. She felt pulled to these people for some weird reason, like some unknown force was telling her to go.

Persephone’s eyes scanned the page looking for more information such as a dress code and smiled when she found what she was looking for. The event was in two days time which wouldn’t give her much time to prepare but she didn’t care. She loved any excuse to dress up and what better cause than helping children? If she happened to find some inspiration, so be it.

Persephone closed her laptop after filling out the form and hitting submit. Apparently it was required to be granted access and she hoped Vallya would feel up to going with her. She didn’t want to go alone.

“Time to go shopping.” Persephone whispered to herself as she packed up her stuff and tossed her drink into the trash.

She shot a quick text to her roommate to get ready and meet her downstairs then exited the café with an odd sense of excitement blooming in her chest.