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Hours have passed and the sun continues to sink lower and lower before it will reach the western horizon. Anxiously waiting, I continue to watch Persephone as the light in her smile and the fluid bounce in her step seems to have vanished. Her harvesting rituals seem as if it is her first time encountering a newborn seed, as if she's never done this before. Countless times she even appeared to be distracted, as if something in the distance has caught her eye and she can't seem to bring herself back to earth. During one of these spells, she happened to cut her finger on a rose bush she had been tending to, something she has never done before.

Persephone has always been very careful and even graceful with her work. As any artist does, she takes her time to make sure that it is simply perfection.  She would harvest all day and not have a speck of soil on her or her light yet modest outfit. But today, her flawless rosy hued pink skin was turning into a scarred and bloody mess covered in dirt.

"Ah!" she cries out, holding her freshly cut hand and pulling it to her mouth almost as if she expected to suck out the pain.

"Persephone?" a beautiful blond woman called out as she came running to her daughter and kneeling beside her as she observed her new injuries. "Darling, what happened?"

"I-I don't know," she said, tears drawing down her cheeks. "The rose bushes must have caught me by surprise."

"Persephone…" Demeter cooed, petting her only daughter's hair gently and pulling her into her shoulder as she cried. "What's the matter, dear? I had been watching you for these few hours and I can't help but ponder what has you distracted?"

Eagerly awaiting her response, I lean in forward even though my distance is easily one-hundred yards away. Could I be the reason for her failure to bring the Fall harvests? I suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Persephone just whimpered and hugged her mother around her waist.

"Honey, you can tell me if something is wrong," she pried.

"I've just been distracted by these dreams I've had…" she murmured so softly I could barely hear it. "Crops dying, animals scurrying for safety and the water to quench their and our thirst dried up."

Demeter just smiled and kissed the top of her beautiful daughter's caramel colored hair and hugged her tight.

"Darling? Have we ever been unsuccessful in our harvesting?"

"Well… no mother-"

"Then you have nothing to fret," she chimed, standing on her feet and holding her hands out to Persephone. "Come, child, we have work to be done."

She smiled, taking her mother's hands only to stand and embrace her mother once again. Demeter responds to her hug and smiles just as bright as her daughter.

"Let me see these scars."

"They'll be fine, mother, I promise."

"Nonsense," she smiled pulling away from her, bending down and collecting a few herbs and other colorful plants, crushing them up in her hands to create a salve. Finally, she pulls her daughters injured hands and arms with her cleanest hand and then begins to apply the ointment that was almost an obvious immediate remedy.

"There," she smiles, whipping off the excess crushed herbs. "Good as new."

And it was. It was almost as if she had never even touched a thorn in her life as her unblemished skin returned back to its original breath taking beauty.

Persephone smiles slightly, holding her arms as if they had still been in pain. "Thank you, mother. I'll continue on with our work, seeing as how the sun isn't too far from the horizon," she nodded her head towards the west.

"Ah, you're right," Demeter smiled. "We'll meet back at sundown for supper, alright?"

She nodded happily. "Alright, sundown."

Demeter nodded and then skipped back to her original engagements with the sunflowers that had been half bloomed and in desperate need of her attention. Like her daughter, she was an artist when it came to bringing life to a seed and mending those plants that had begun to wilt.

But Persephone didn't seem as if that was what she wanted to do. She eyed her field, worried expression with possible confusion until she just sat there, playing with a blade of grass between her fingers while a sudden gust of wind tousled her hair and wisp of clothing about. Playing with her powers, she let a seed fall from her tips creating a small hole for it to burrow in. Then she covered it up, placed her hand over it and let it grow.

Unlike the orchids and lilies and roses she was known for producing, this one was smaller, less extravagant but not any less beautiful as it wrapped around her ring finger like a vine. It was simple, but it had to be the most relatable flower to Persephone. A daisy.

Friendly, gentle and beautiful. Flowers that can always make you smile even in the darkest times.

She smiled down at the small flower that hugged her wedding ring finger, giggling at something that must have been an inside joke. The sound of her bubbling laughter suddenly made me smile wider as I continue to watch.

Finally she sighed, pulling her finger away from the daisy turning her eyes to the horizon as it was only less than three hours away from touching the surface.

"Damn you, Helios," she scorned the sun God, standing on her feet and hustling her way back to the forest of crops and trees, disappearing from my sight.

I let my head fall slightly as I turn my eyes to my heavily armed self that was beginning to reflect off the glass wall that was transforming before my very eyes. Then, bringing my attention to the Jasmine bed below me, I can't help but think how the separation would be permanent if the last brick were to be in place by sunset. She wouldn't dream of crossing this line if she didn't have to. All I have to hold on to is that she'll accidently forget where the line was and cross it by mistake. But she wasn't foolish, she made that very clear this morning at sun rise. She knew who I was the second she put her hand through my world. She wouldn't be foolish to cross it again, not when she has paradise at her finger tips. But even fools like me can dream.

A part of me hopes that she will never cross. A part of me hopes that she will never have to endure the same pain and queasiness I feel everyday when a new soul finds its way to my Hell screaming like a banshee, uncertain if they are even dead. Even after all these eons, I cannot stomach the sound of a crying mother who has been called by sickness to leave her family behind.  It is far worse than anything I have ever heard in all my existence.

If Persephone were to leave by Zeus' grace, would Demeter cry out just as the mothers I have seen had? Would she come for her like Orpheus had done for Eurydice? *See Artist Comments Below*

Something tells me I'm not too far off…

I sighed in frustration as I turned my back and continued to travel back to my original domain, hating myself for wishfully thinking this would be as simple as breathing. Little did I know it was about as simple as breathing with a thousand pound weight on my chest.

"Damn you, Zeus!" I hollered in the forest. "Damn you and this life you have given me! Damn you too Poseidon! If it weren't for-" I stopped short, slamming my fists into the hollow and sick looking elm tree just beside me. "I loathe you, brothers!"

There was only silence as a gentle breeze tossed my long ash white hair.

Fed up and tired, I hastily push myself away from the tree and continue on with my journey, ignoring the sunset that I assumed had already touched the horizon.

Finally arriving back to the solemn screams and ghastly cries from the spirits and undead alike, I pretend to not notice them as I hasten my way up the tall staircase to my dark scarlet and charcoal black chambers that seemed to mesh perfectly into this places' atmosphere like cogs in a clock: dark, dreary and lifeless.

Letting out a deep breath, I turn the handle and push open the heavy wooden and iron door as it welcomes me with a loud and ear splitting screech that I have all but become numb to. As I walk in, I pass the large king sized bed that was all but fitting for its name -that is if I had ever once felt like a king-, pull back the satin drapes and find just the same view I've grown accustom to: dirty snow, deathly sick looking trees and plants along with smog rolling over grey mountains in the far off distance.

Pulling open the glass and wooden balcony doors, I step out on to the stone paved veranda until I finally make it to the end of the walk and rest my arms on the railing.

I sigh letting the cold and frigged air take my cloud of breath away into the growing darkness, disappearing before my very eyes. The silent screams of Hell have all but drowned out from my ears as I continue to listen for anything beyond the glass wall. Waiting…

Though the sun is impossible to see from my side of the world, I knew that it only had an hour before it would be gone for the night, only to return for its duties at dawn. Every side of me prayed that Persephone would come to the wall. That she would pass through it like a gentle breeze scuttling in through the open window of a warm summers afternoon, find me and live forever as my Goddess of the Underworld. But the other part of me -the constant nagging in the back of my head- wished she would turn her back away from me and never return. Never have to live the life that I was damned with.

But why would a heartless man such as me even care if a woman would return this… this thing that mortals have called "love?" This sickening and pointless but oh-so-satisfying and addictive feeling of giving and returning each other's heart and soul. Why would the God of the Underworld even try to feel?

Suddenly there was a howl in the darkness that caused my entire body to stand alert and on guard. Searching around me for the genesis of the deafening cry, I am introduced to the thunderous yell of the canine beasts that surround and guard the premises of Hell.

Hell Hounds.

I gasped suddenly understanding what it was that had thrown them into a frenzy.

"Persephone!"

Throwing caution to the wind, I heave myself over the railing and hit the ground running behind them as I pull the sword from behind my back to my front, prepared for any danger that may come. Begging Hermes to give me the gift of swift feet, I dug my toes deeper and deeper into the snow and sleet, skidding over a river that had been frozen over countless times again and again only to topple over myself when a giant and mystic black wolf like creature shoves beside me, craving the blood that will lather his teeth in only a matter of minutes.

Quickly getting back to my feet I continue running after the pack, making my goal the leader of the pack: Judas. The third brother of Cerberus and Orthrus.

Hell Hounds are best described to humans as black and brown wolves on steroids with glowing and piercing red eyes, with strength and speed at a capacity that none could ever fathom. But, the idea of speed is pointless when they much more enjoy shadow travel, keeping them behind the shadows and ambush when the prey has taken fall to their trap. I have rid this world of life and shadows for the sake of them ever using this power against me. Even though I was the one who brought them to life, they will never cease to attempt to bring me my death. Tonight, I won't let something as pointless as my life be my distraction from trying to save Persephone's.

"Judas!" I called out, finally gaining speed. "STOP!"

"A soul has crossed the line of Hell!" he growls back, digging his paws deeper into the snow as he pushed himself farther. "As the Guardians of Hell, it is our duty to take care of it! It is you who gave that law!  You Hades!"

"I am your master and you will obey my command! Stop and retreat!"

He barked and snarled his teeth as he pounced onto my chest, causing the sword in my hand to fly as he bit into my neck, drawing blood and a soundless cry from my throat.

"I will not retreat!" he growled with disdain and blood, dripping from his frothy mouth. "You are not my master and nor will you ever be! Stand down and let us do our job!"

"You- You stand…" I panted and coughed, holding my neck as it continued to pour crimson red. "…d-down!"

"Move out!" Judas called to the pack, ignoring my command as he and the rest of the Hell Hounds burst into a sprint towards the wall.

"Judas!" I weakly screamed standing and using a tree to support my weight. "D-damn it! Ju-das!"

Only the silence responded as the packs howls and running paws faded away into nothingness.

I winced, holding my throat attempting to speak, but nothing would come out but weak squeals and whimpers.

Man's best friend I scoffed to myself. If that is a best friend, I did myself well to keep away from others.

I hated that Judas at first glance of him. The second he was created, I knew he would be a problem for me. But I never put too much thought into how much or what kind of trouble, only that I knew it wouldn't be pleasant. But then again, what trouble is?

But I couldn't worry about that right now, I had to save Persephone. With the Hell Hounds gaining more and more time the longer I stood here, I finally pushed myself off the tree as a trail of scarlet and crimson droplets followed after me. Unfortunately, the pain in my neck and the piercing sting of the venom in Judas' fang made the ability to walk as impossible as trying to catch a shadow with your bare hands. I didn't let it slow me down though. I wouldn't let something as futile as pain get in my way!

With nothing to lose but the revived heart in my chest, I pound my feet against the cold forest floor and continue to run as fast as my lungs will let me. Luckily, Judas doesn't know about the shortcut I had made after countless times of losing myself in the Forest of Despair.

Cutting the time in half from Hell to the wall that was nearly complete, I suddenly halt at the face of not Persephone but her aunt…

"Hera," I growled, heaving blood and air just to speak the wretched name of my brother's wife.

"And who was it you were expecting to see, Hades?" she chimed and laughed mechanically. "Persephone, perhaps?"

"What have you don-!"

"Shh," she cooed, softly placing her hand over my mouth while her crimson red lips pulled up into a gentle smile. "We wouldn't want you to lose anymore blood than you already have."

"What… did you-!" I demanded before I was suddenly suffocated by the air I was breathing.

"Ooh," Hera marveled, holding an invisible orb of air in her hands, clenching her fingers tighter while my throat continued to close up the more she curled her fingers. "You're a lot feistier than I remember you to be. It's a shame that you couldn't have put that anger to a better use on Olympus. You could have been wining and dining with the finest of all Gods and Goddess…" she sighed as if she had actually felt remorse for me.

I silently spat to myself. I didn't want nor need her pity, especially since this is the woman who had once said "I do" to the man I hate more than all man and Gods alike.

"You could have been with someone like me," she smiles, suggestively stepping closer to me trailing the hand that was over my mouth down to my still bleeding throat.

"G-get… o-ff!" I coughed, trying to breathe as best as I could behind her serpent like hands.

"Shh…" she coaxed, leaning in closer to my small and quick breaths, stopping just before her pearl white teeth could marry my own, prepared to suck out the soul that I had fought so long to keep hold on to. "Zeus and Persephone will nev-"

"GET OFF OF ME WOMAN!" I growled, trying to ignore the similarity to Judas' anger as I grabbed Hera's small and petite shoulders, shoving her away with as much strength I could muster. "What have you done to Persephone?!"

She just smiled and laughed.

"Tell me now!"

"Why I have done nothing to darling, Persephone. How could you accuse me of such a traitoro-?"

"Damn it Hera!" I scolded, holding out my sword to her neck. "What has thou done with my Persephone?!"

"So possessive," she giggled sweetly behind her hand, holding the hem of her long flowing white dress to reveal the beautiful caramel haired goddess I had been watching for all these eons, pale and lifeless as she rests on the bed of Jasmine that she had brought to life only twenty four hours ago. "I don't remember you being this passionate about anything since Zeus won father's crown."

Ignoring the golden haired Goddess of marriage, I seize myself to Persephone's side, examining her expressionless face. All blush and color ridden from her.

"What did you do?!" I demanded, softly laying my beloved to rest, standing to be eye to eye with the woman in question.

"Noth-"

Growing tired of this hideous woman's lies, I slam her back into the tree as a thunderous crack echoed in to our ears. "WHAT DID YOU DO, HERA?!"

"Hades…" she started, giggling. "Asking how a woman died? The irony is delicious," she smiled, licking her lips seductively.

"ANSWER ME!"

Hera only laughed. "You're not the only one with connections to the dead you know, dear sweet Hades," she smiled, tracking a single finger past my lip and down my silver breast plate.

Her seduction is almost as taunting as licking an angry hornet's nest, I scoffed to myself, releasing any and all grip I had on her. "I'm the God of Death and the Underworld. You cannot have a connection I do not know about!"

"Obviously I can," she giggled playfully. "Seeing as how Death himself cannot figure out something as simple as reason of death, I believe I can and do."

I scoffed, turning away from Hera, fed up and tired from the loss of blood. Of course, it could never kill me, only make me weak.

"Wh-where are you going?" she asked sheepishly.

Turning into the man I had been dubbed long, long ago, I let my irises burn a fiery red into the empty skulled woman before me, wishing now more than ever I had the ability to kill a God. I didn't let a single ounce of irritation go unnoticed as I gave a grim and unsatisfied expression.

"I have not the time or the patience to deal with you or your failure to keep my brother satisfied! If this predicament and stage play is all for the eyes of Zeus, then leave. If you wish to fulfill a wrath fit for my brother's unfaithfulness to you, not that it takes Pandora's curiosity to understand why," I added brusquely, "then banish yourself from my land and never, ever let me catch you or anyone from Olympus on my land ever again! I will not be part of your childish entertainment to mold my brother into jealousy after he has already forgotten every memory of you by now while he continues courting a lowlife human girl who would still be prize material over you."

Her words were washed clean from her wide open mouth. I silently debated whether Medusa had suddenly arrived and frozen her solid before me… that is until the wench grew enough stability to walk across the open space between us and smack her hand against my cheek. I found it ironic that I obtained more enjoyment in her anger than I did her seduction. But it just made everything better when she had spat in my face and disappeared without another word… for what word could she use when the truth had all but returned that slap on to her own cheek? I smiled as I wiped the saliva from my face.

It has been no secret that my brother enjoys the company of different woman on different nights. Why, if he didn't, we wouldn't have the many Gods and Goddess we have now.

Pity I think to myself.

Suddenly remembering why I was here, I turn my attention back to the beauty that I presume has turned to my side, but not of her own free will… and not in the way I wanted.

"Persephone," I whispered, kneeling before her, hesitantly reaching my hand towards her delicate and pale face. "Persephone… can you hear me?"

The maiden remained silent in her response… not even a breath.

"Persephone," I begged, leaning closer as the snow around us began to fall in light whispers. "Please, I can't bear to live knowing that I have lost everything good in this world because of a mad woman."

HOOOOWWLLLLL!!!!

I gasped at the piercing voice of Judas' pack only a few miles away that would promise their arrival in only a matter of seconds. Seizing the lifeless woman before me, I pull her into my chest and allow myself to fade away into a nearby shadow I had only momentarily given permission for. Just enough time to let the Hell Hounds pass without second thought…

Worried that I had startled the poor maiden, I hold her closer to my breath plate.

But she didn't even twitch a finger. Nothing was getting through to her and I had been suddenly afraid of the worst. She was gone and she was never coming back.

Death isn't merciful in the slightest. It will not change the fates of time and it will never return a lost soul to its empty shell of a body… not even if death commanded it to.

"Per-Persephone?" my voice cracked. "Persephone, please… please wake up."

Still… nothing.

Finally taking a chance, I rip the leather glove away from my hand with my teeth and compare my translucent white skin to her deathly pale, and -for the first time in both our existences- our skin had made contact with a jolt that shot me a good few feet away from her corpse like body.

She is still with us, I blissfully thought to myself, remembering warmth spread throughout my entire body as my icicle-like fingers gently caressed the side of her face. Only a living and breathing spirit could ever cause my body to shove back at my death forsaken soul.

"Persephone!" I begged, softly shaking her shoulder. "Persephone, you must open those emerald green eyes and look into mine! Please! Darling, come away from the darkness and follow my voice!"

A soft moan left the hollow of her throat as she tossed from one side to the other.

If I didn't have a heart before, it definitely came to life only to stop again when a small hue of pink colored her flushed cheeks while she smiled gently, curling up into a warm ball as a flower poked out of the icy ground and wrapped around her wedding band finger just as it had earlier.

"Princess?" I whispered, caressing her cold and wet cheek from the snow, banishing anything with my thumb that wasn't her own skin. "Can you hear me?"

"Mm…" she hummed, still smiling as she released one hand from her grasp, raising it to her face as to wrap her fingers around my bare one that didn't leave her intoxicating warmth.

I smiled in return as my hand mechanically grabbed hers back, rubbing small circles into the back of her hand.

"Are you certain you are in the right place my dear?" I asked hesitantly, but still keeping it light and playful.

"Mm…" she replied again, gripping my hand a little tighter.

"Then tell me… where has the lady fallen?"

"Down, down, down the rabbit hole," she laughed, weakly. "Never to see the light of day again."

I sighed in half relief. "Then tell me… who am I?"

Softly, the lids that hid away the gem like eyes from the world, opened into slits as she turned them to my ice cold blue worried ones and smiled, letting go of my hand only to raise it up to my face, smiling all the while.

I couldn't ignore the petal-like softness in her touch or even the warmth that was as exhilarating as the sun Helios had placed in the center of the sky, closing my eyes and turning my face into her palm as I held it close to me. I suddenly realized why I had wanted to remember what it had felt like to actually feel again… to live once more even in the darkness of Hell.

"You are nothing more than a man… a man who has wanted nothing more than to live a normal life, even if that means occupying ones time into spying on a lonely girl who has wished on countless stars for a prince to sweep her off her feet."

I smile lightly, holding on to Persephone's hand with my own before letting it go only to scoop my arms underneath her small torso, holding her as close to my heart as I could manage.

"Well then, my lady," I smiled, resting her head onto the crevice between my shoulder and my finally beating jugular vein, "you may call me your knight in shining armor."

She just giggled, shaking her head. "Mm-mm," she disagreed.

Confusion thick in my expression, I turn to her silently asking what she meant.

"Who would want a knight when she can have a Lord, a King and a Prince all in one?" she joked, silently tapping my iron and sapphire made crown that sat just above my hair and forehead line.

I laughed genuinely, resting my forehead against hers, taking in the scent of jasmine and cherry blossoms and another scent that I couldn't quite pin point… Pomegranate, maybe?

Persephone just smiled back at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and curling up closer to my chest, but not before I could grab her chin and gently place her feet on the tops of my leather boots, keeping her as warm as possible. Slithering one arm around the small of her back, I pull her in and lean down slightly as I had a few inches over her. Finally –after many sleepless nights, day dreaming- I hesitantly let my lips meet hers only to be overwhelmed at the sweet and innocent taste that lingered in her kiss to pull her in tighter only to deepen the affection I had been desperately wishing to give for a long, long time.

Pulling away slightly, Persephone giggled and rested her forehead against my breast plate, wrapping her arms around me in an inescapable embrace that I could never dare break. All fear and anger she once had, vanished at just the simplest touch. I didn't hesitate to return the affection as I held her close and vowed then and there to never let another demonic soul touch her… that is, unless it was my own. I relished at the thought.

But she gasped, worried. "Hades!"

Blinking in fear, I turn my eyes to her, afraid our moment was over just as quickly as it had started.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

She stretched one hand underneath my jaw line only to pull it back towards my face where a puddle of crimson had drenched her dainty digits. "You're bleeding!"

I sighed in relief. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise you."

"Lie down," she demanded, pulling herself away from me.

"Perseph-"

"Do as I say," she turned to me, glaring. "Lie down."

I smiled and said nothing more as I set myself on the icy ground.

Only a few heartbeats later did she return with gathered herbs in her small hands, crushed and moist from the snow, recreating the salve her mother made for her only a few hours ago. Gently setting herself down beside me, she places both hands with nature's ointment onto either side of my neck, rubbing it in soothingly and lovingly.

"There," she smiled, pushing away the remaining herbs after time had cured me, "good as new."

I release a small laugh as I let my hand caress the pink hue just under her gem-like eyes as she smiled. Soft and gently, I cup the back of her fragile neck and slowly pull her down to me, pressing my lips to hers while my arms snaked around her back, molding her body to my own as we remained hidden in the shadows, evicted from the world and not caring a single moment.

Pulling away slightly, she hovers just over me and smiles. "Who knew the kiss of death was truly heaven in disguise?" she giggled, encircling my neck in her arms as she rested her forehead against my own.

I sighed in complete euphoria, relieved that for once something beautiful I touched didn't turn into ash, but rather remained the beautiful flower it had always been since the day it bloomed onto my side of the glass wall.

_,.;:-'"*"'-:;.,_

Description
Hours have passed and the sun continues to sink lower and lower before it will reach the western horizon. Anxiously waiting, I continue to watch Persephone as the light in her smile and the fluid bounce in her step seems to have vanished. Her harvesting rituals seem as if it is her first time encountering a newborn seed, as if she's never done this before. Countless times she even appeared to be distracted, as if something in the distance has caught her eye and she can't seem to bring herself back to earth. During one of these spells, she happened to cut her finger on a rose bush she had been tending to, something she has never done before.

Persephone has always been very careful and even graceful with her work. As any artist does, she takes her time to make sure that it is simply perfection.  She would harvest all day and not have a speck of soil on her or her light yet modest outfit. But today, her flawless rosy hued pink skin was turning into a scarred and bloody mess covered in dirt.

"Ah!" she cries out, holding her freshly cut hand and pulling it to her mouth almost as if she expected to suck out the pain.

"Persephone?" a beautiful blond woman called out as she came running to her daughter and kneeling beside her as she observed her new injuries. "Darling, what happened?"

"I-I don't know," she said, tears drawing down her cheeks. "The rose bushes must have caught me by surprise."

"Persephone…" Demeter cooed, petting her only daughter's hair gently and pulling her into her shoulder as she cried. "What's the matter, dear? I had been watching you for these few hours and I can't help but ponder what has you distracted?"

Eagerly awaiting her response, I lean in forward even though my distance is easily one-hundred yards away. Could I be the reason for her failure to bring the Fall harvests? I suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Persephone just whimpered and hugged her mother around her waist.

"Honey, you can tell me if something is wrong," she pried.

"I've just been distracted by these dreams I've had…" she murmured so softly I could barely hear it. "Crops dying, animals scurrying for safety and the water to quench their and our thirst dried up."

Demeter just smiled and kissed the top of her beautiful daughter's caramel colored hair and hugged her tight.

"Darling? Have we ever been unsuccessful in our harvesting?"

"Well… no mother-"

"Then you have nothing to fret," she chimed, standing on her feet and holding her hands out to Persephone. "Come, child, we have work to be done."

She smiled, taking her mother's hands only to stand and embrace her mother once again. Demeter responds to her hug and smiles just as bright as her daughter.

"Let me see these scars."

"They'll be fine, mother, I promise."

"Nonsense," she smiled pulling away from her, bending down and collecting a few herbs and other colorful plants, crushing them up in her hands to create a salve. Finally, she pulls her daughters injured hands and arms with her cleanest hand and then begins to apply the ointment that was almost an obvious immediate remedy.

"There," she smiles, whipping off the excess crushed herbs. "Good as new."

And it was. It was almost as if she had never even touched a thorn in her life as her unblemished skin returned back to its original breath taking beauty.

Persephone smiles slightly, holding her arms as if they had still been in pain. "Thank you, mother. I'll continue on with our work, seeing as how the sun isn't too far from the horizon," she nodded her head towards the west.

"Ah, you're right," Demeter smiled. "We'll meet back at sundown for supper, alright?"

She nodded happily. "Alright, sundown."

Demeter nodded and then skipped back to her original engagements with the sunflowers that had been half bloomed and in desperate need of her attention. Like her daughter, she was an artist when it came to bringing life to a seed and mending those plants that had begun to wilt.

But Persephone didn't seem as if that was what she wanted to do. She eyed her field, worried expression with possible confusion until she just sat there, playing with a blade of grass between her fingers while a sudden gust of wind tousled her hair and wisp of clothing about. Playing with her powers, she let a seed fall from her tips creating a small hole for it to burrow in. Then she covered it up, placed her hand over it and let it grow.

Unlike the orchids and lilies and roses she was known for producing, this one was smaller, less extravagant but not any less beautiful as it wrapped around her ring finger like a vine. It was simple, but it had to be the most relatable flower to Persephone. A daisy.

Friendly, gentle and beautiful. Flowers that can always make you smile even in the darkest times.

She smiled down at the small flower that hugged her wedding ring finger, giggling at something that must have been an inside joke. The sound of her bubbling laughter suddenly made me smile wider as I continue to watch.

Finally she sighed, pulling her finger away from the daisy turning her eyes to the horizon as it was only less than three hours away from touching the surface.

"Damn you, Helios," she scorned the sun God, standing on her feet and hustling her way back to the forest of crops and trees, disappearing from my sight.

I let my head fall slightly as I turn my eyes to my heavily armed self that was beginning to reflect off the glass wall that was transforming before my very eyes. Then, bringing my attention to the Jasmine bed below me, I can't help but think how the separation would be permanent if the last brick were to be in place by sunset. She wouldn't dream of crossing this line if she didn't have to. All I have to hold on to is that she'll accidently forget where the line was and cross it by mistake. But she wasn't foolish, she made that very clear this morning at sun rise. She knew who I was the second she put her hand through my world. She wouldn't be foolish to cross it again, not when she has paradise at her finger tips. But even fools like me can dream.

A part of me hopes that she will never cross. A part of me hopes that she will never have to endure the same pain and queasiness I feel everyday when a new soul finds its way to my Hell screaming like a banshee, uncertain if they are even dead. Even after all these eons, I cannot stomach the sound of a crying mother who has been called by sickness to leave her family behind.  It is far worse than anything I have ever heard in all my existence.

If Persephone were to leave by Zeus' grace, would Demeter cry out just as the mothers I have seen had? Would she come for her like Orpheus had done for Eurydice? *See Artist Comments Below*

Something tells me I'm not too far off…

I sighed in frustration as I turned my back and continued to travel back to my original domain, hating myself for wishfully thinking this would be as simple as breathing. Little did I know it was about as simple as breathing with a thousand pound weight on my chest.

"Damn you, Zeus!" I hollered in the forest. "Damn you and this life you have given me! Damn you too Poseidon! If it weren't for-" I stopped short, slamming my fists into the hollow and sick looking elm tree just beside me. "I loathe you, brothers!"

There was only silence as a gentle breeze tossed my long ash white hair.

Fed up and tired, I hastily push myself away from the tree and continue on with my journey, ignoring the sunset that I assumed had already touched the horizon.

Finally arriving back to the solemn screams and ghastly cries from the spirits and undead alike, I pretend to not notice them as I hasten my way up the tall staircase to my dark scarlet and charcoal black chambers that seemed to mesh perfectly into this places' atmosphere like cogs in a clock: dark, dreary and lifeless.

Letting out a deep breath, I turn the handle and push open the heavy wooden and iron door as it welcomes me with a loud and ear splitting screech that I have all but become numb to. As I walk in, I pass the large king sized bed that was all but fitting for its name -that is if I had ever once felt like a king-, pull back the satin drapes and find just the same view I've grown accustom to: dirty snow, deathly sick looking trees and plants along with smog rolling over grey mountains in the far off distance.

Pulling open the glass and wooden balcony doors, I step out on to the stone paved veranda until I finally make it to the end of the walk and rest my arms on the railing.

I sigh letting the cold and frigged air take my cloud of breath away into the growing darkness, disappearing before my very eyes. The silent screams of Hell have all but drowned out from my ears as I continue to listen for anything beyond the glass wall. Waiting…

Though the sun is impossible to see from my side of the world, I knew that it only had an hour before it would be gone for the night, only to return for its duties at dawn. Every side of me prayed that Persephone would come to the wall. That she would pass through it like a gentle breeze scuttling in through the open window of a warm summers afternoon, find me and live forever as my Goddess of the Underworld. But the other part of me -the constant nagging in the back of my head- wished she would turn her back away from me and never return. Never have to live the life that I was damned with.

But why would a heartless man such as me even care if a woman would return this… this thing that mortals have called "love?" This sickening and pointless but oh-so-satisfying and addictive feeling of giving and returning each other's heart and soul. Why would the God of the Underworld even try to feel?

Suddenly there was a howl in the darkness that caused my entire body to stand alert and on guard. Searching around me for the genesis of the deafening cry, I am introduced to the thunderous yell of the canine beasts that surround and guard the premises of Hell.

Hell Hounds.

I gasped suddenly understanding what it was that had thrown them into a frenzy.

"Persephone!"

Throwing caution to the wind, I heave myself over the railing and hit the ground running behind them as I pull the sword from behind my back to my front, prepared for any danger that may come. Begging Hermes to give me the gift of swift feet, I dug my toes deeper and deeper into the snow and sleet, skidding over a river that had been frozen over countless times again and again only to topple over myself when a giant and mystic black wolf like creature shoves beside me, craving the blood that will lather his teeth in only a matter of minutes.

Quickly getting back to my feet I continue running after the pack, making my goal the leader of the pack: Judas. The third brother of Cerberus and Orthrus.

Hell Hounds are best described to humans as black and brown wolves on steroids with glowing and piercing red eyes, with strength and speed at a capacity that none could ever fathom. But, the idea of speed is pointless when they much more enjoy shadow travel, keeping them behind the shadows and ambush when the prey has taken fall to their trap. I have rid this world of life and shadows for the sake of them ever using this power against me. Even though I was the one who brought them to life, they will never cease to attempt to bring me my death. Tonight, I won't let something as pointless as my life be my distraction from trying to save Persephone's.

"Judas!" I called out, finally gaining speed. "STOP!"

"A soul has crossed the line of Hell!" he growls back, digging his paws deeper into the snow as he pushed himself farther. "As the Guardians of Hell, it is our duty to take care of it! It is you who gave that law!  You Hades!"

"I am your master and you will obey my command! Stop and retreat!"

He barked and snarled his teeth as he pounced onto my chest, causing the sword in my hand to fly as he bit into my neck, drawing blood and a soundless cry from my throat.

"I will not retreat!" he growled with disdain and blood, dripping from his frothy mouth. "You are not my master and nor will you ever be! Stand down and let us do our job!"

"You- You stand…" I panted and coughed, holding my neck as it continued to pour crimson red. "…d-down!"

"Move out!" Judas called to the pack, ignoring my command as he and the rest of the Hell Hounds burst into a sprint towards the wall.

"Judas!" I weakly screamed standing and using a tree to support my weight. "D-damn it! Ju-das!"

Only the silence responded as the packs howls and running paws faded away into nothingness.

I winced, holding my throat attempting to speak, but nothing would come out but weak squeals and whimpers.

Man's best friend I scoffed to myself. If that is a best friend, I did myself well to keep away from others.

I hated that Judas at first glance of him. The second he was created, I knew he would be a problem for me. But I never put too much thought into how much or what kind of trouble, only that I knew it wouldn't be pleasant. But then again, what trouble is?

But I couldn't worry about that right now, I had to save Persephone. With the Hell Hounds gaining more and more time the longer I stood here, I finally pushed myself off the tree as a trail of scarlet and crimson droplets followed after me. Unfortunately, the pain in my neck and the piercing sting of the venom in Judas' fang made the ability to walk as impossible as trying to catch a shadow with your bare hands. I didn't let it slow me down though. I wouldn't let something as futile as pain get in my way!

With nothing to lose but the revived heart in my chest, I pound my feet against the cold forest floor and continue to run as fast as my lungs will let me. Luckily, Judas doesn't know about the shortcut I had made after countless times of losing myself in the Forest of Despair.

Cutting the time in half from Hell to the wall that was nearly complete, I suddenly halt at the face of not Persephone but her aunt…

"Hera," I growled, heaving blood and air just to speak the wretched name of my brother's wife.

"And who was it you were expecting to see, Hades?" she chimed and laughed mechanically. "Persephone, perhaps?"

"What have you don-!"

"Shh," she cooed, softly placing her hand over my mouth while her crimson red lips pulled up into a gentle smile. "We wouldn't want you to lose anymore blood than you already have."

"What… did you-!" I demanded before I was suddenly suffocated by the air I was breathing.

"Ooh," Hera marveled, holding an invisible orb of air in her hands, clenching her fingers tighter while my throat continued to close up the more she curled her fingers. "You're a lot feistier than I remember you to be. It's a shame that you couldn't have put that anger to a better use on Olympus. You could have been wining and dining with the finest of all Gods and Goddess…" she sighed as if she had actually felt remorse for me.

I silently spat to myself. I didn't want nor need her pity, especially since this is the woman who had once said "I do" to the man I hate more than all man and Gods alike.

"You could have been with someone like me," she smiles, suggestively stepping closer to me trailing the hand that was over my mouth down to my still bleeding throat.

"G-get… o-ff!" I coughed, trying to breathe as best as I could behind her serpent like hands.

"Shh…" she coaxed, leaning in closer to my small and quick breaths, stopping just before her pearl white teeth could marry my own, prepared to suck out the soul that I had fought so long to keep hold on to. "Zeus and Persephone will nev-"

"GET OFF OF ME WOMAN!" I growled, trying to ignore the similarity to Judas' anger as I grabbed Hera's small and petite shoulders, shoving her away with as much strength I could muster. "What have you done to Persephone?!"

She just smiled and laughed.

"Tell me now!"

"Why I have done nothing to darling, Persephone. How could you accuse me of such a traitoro-?"

"Damn it Hera!" I scolded, holding out my sword to her neck. "What has thou done with my Persephone?!"

"So possessive," she giggled sweetly behind her hand, holding the hem of her long flowing white dress to reveal the beautiful caramel haired goddess I had been watching for all these eons, pale and lifeless as she rests on the bed of Jasmine that she had brought to life only twenty four hours ago. "I don't remember you being this passionate about anything since Zeus won father's crown."

Ignoring the golden haired Goddess of marriage, I seize myself to Persephone's side, examining her expressionless face. All blush and color ridden from her.

"What did you do?!" I demanded, softly laying my beloved to rest, standing to be eye to eye with the woman in question.

"Noth-"

Growing tired of this hideous woman's lies, I slam her back into the tree as a thunderous crack echoed in to our ears. "WHAT DID YOU DO, HERA?!"

"Hades…" she started, giggling. "Asking how a woman died? The irony is delicious," she smiled, licking her lips seductively.

"ANSWER ME!"

Hera only laughed. "You're not the only one with connections to the dead you know, dear sweet Hades," she smiled, tracking a single finger past my lip and down my silver breast plate.

Her seduction is almost as taunting as licking an angry hornet's nest, I scoffed to myself, releasing any and all grip I had on her. "I'm the God of Death and the Underworld. You cannot have a connection I do not know about!"

"Obviously I can," she giggled playfully. "Seeing as how Death himself cannot figure out something as simple as reason of death, I believe I can and do."

I scoffed, turning away from Hera, fed up and tired from the loss of blood. Of course, it could never kill me, only make me weak.

"Wh-where are you going?" she asked sheepishly.

Turning into the man I had been dubbed long, long ago, I let my irises burn a fiery red into the empty skulled woman before me, wishing now more than ever I had the ability to kill a God. I didn't let a single ounce of irritation go unnoticed as I gave a grim and unsatisfied expression.

"I have not the time or the patience to deal with you or your failure to keep my brother satisfied! If this predicament and stage play is all for the eyes of Zeus, then leave. If you wish to fulfill a wrath fit for my brother's unfaithfulness to you, not that it takes Pandora's curiosity to understand why," I added brusquely, "then banish yourself from my land and never, ever let me catch you or anyone from Olympus on my land ever again! I will not be part of your childish entertainment to mold my brother into jealousy after he has already forgotten every memory of you by now while he continues courting a lowlife human girl who would still be prize material over you."

Her words were washed clean from her wide open mouth. I silently debated whether Medusa had suddenly arrived and frozen her solid before me… that is until the wench grew enough stability to walk across the open space between us and smack her hand against my cheek. I found it ironic that I obtained more enjoyment in her anger than I did her seduction. But it just made everything better when she had spat in my face and disappeared without another word… for what word could she use when the truth had all but returned that slap on to her own cheek? I smiled as I wiped the saliva from my face.

It has been no secret that my brother enjoys the company of different woman on different nights. Why, if he didn't, we wouldn't have the many Gods and Goddess we have now.

Pity I think to myself.

Suddenly remembering why I was here, I turn my attention back to the beauty that I presume has turned to my side, but not of her own free will… and not in the way I wanted.

"Persephone," I whispered, kneeling before her, hesitantly reaching my hand towards her delicate and pale face. "Persephone… can you hear me?"

The maiden remained silent in her response… not even a breath.

"Persephone," I begged, leaning closer as the snow around us began to fall in light whispers. "Please, I can't bear to live knowing that I have lost everything good in this world because of a mad woman."

HOOOOWWLLLLL!!!!

I gasped at the piercing voice of Judas' pack only a few miles away that would promise their arrival in only a matter of seconds. Seizing the lifeless woman before me, I pull her into my chest and allow myself to fade away into a nearby shadow I had only momentarily given permission for. Just enough time to let the Hell Hounds pass without second thought…

Worried that I had startled the poor maiden, I hold her closer to my breath plate.

But she didn't even twitch a finger. Nothing was getting through to her and I had been suddenly afraid of the worst. She was gone and she was never coming back.

Death isn't merciful in the slightest. It will not change the fates of time and it will never return a lost soul to its empty shell of a body… not even if death commanded it to.

"Per-Persephone?" my voice cracked. "Persephone, please… please wake up."

Still… nothing.

Finally taking a chance, I rip the leather glove away from my hand with my teeth and compare my translucent white skin to her deathly pale, and -for the first time in both our existences- our skin had made contact with a jolt that shot me a good few feet away from her corpse like body.

She is still with us, I blissfully thought to myself, remembering warmth spread throughout my entire body as my icicle-like fingers gently caressed the side of her face. Only a living and breathing spirit could ever cause my body to shove back at my death forsaken soul.

"Persephone!" I begged, softly shaking her shoulder. "Persephone, you must open those emerald green eyes and look into mine! Please! Darling, come away from the darkness and follow my voice!"

A soft moan left the hollow of her throat as she tossed from one side to the other.

If I didn't have a heart before, it definitely came to life only to stop again when a small hue of pink colored her flushed cheeks while she smiled gently, curling up into a warm ball as a flower poked out of the icy ground and wrapped around her wedding band finger just as it had earlier.

"Princess?" I whispered, caressing her cold and wet cheek from the snow, banishing anything with my thumb that wasn't her own skin. "Can you hear me?"

"Mm…" she hummed, still smiling as she released one hand from her grasp, raising it to her face as to wrap her fingers around my bare one that didn't leave her intoxicating warmth.

I smiled in return as my hand mechanically grabbed hers back, rubbing small circles into the back of her hand.

"Are you certain you are in the right place my dear?" I asked hesitantly, but still keeping it light and playful.

"Mm…" she replied again, gripping my hand a little tighter.

"Then tell me… where has the lady fallen?"

"Down, down, down the rabbit hole," she laughed, weakly. "Never to see the light of day again."

I sighed in half relief. "Then tell me… who am I?"

Softly, the lids that hid away the gem like eyes from the world, opened into slits as she turned them to my ice cold blue worried ones and smiled, letting go of my hand only to raise it up to my face, smiling all the while.

I couldn't ignore the petal-like softness in her touch or even the warmth that was as exhilarating as the sun Helios had placed in the center of the sky, closing my eyes and turning my face into her palm as I held it close to me. I suddenly realized why I had wanted to remember what it had felt like to actually feel again… to live once more even in the darkness of Hell.

"You are nothing more than a man… a man who has wanted nothing more than to live a normal life, even if that means occupying ones time into spying on a lonely girl who has wished on countless stars for a prince to sweep her off her feet."

I smile lightly, holding on to Persephone's hand with my own before letting it go only to scoop my arms underneath her small torso, holding her as close to my heart as I could manage.

"Well then, my lady," I smiled, resting her head onto the crevice between my shoulder and my finally beating jugular vein, "you may call me your knight in shining armor."

She just giggled, shaking her head. "Mm-mm," she disagreed.

Confusion thick in my expression, I turn to her silently asking what she meant.

"Who would want a knight when she can have a Lord, a King and a Prince all in one?" she joked, silently tapping my iron and sapphire made crown that sat just above my hair and forehead line.

I laughed genuinely, resting my forehead against hers, taking in the scent of jasmine and cherry blossoms and another scent that I couldn't quite pin point… Pomegranate, maybe?

Persephone just smiled back at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and curling up closer to my chest, but not before I could grab her chin and gently place her feet on the tops of my leather boots, keeping her as warm as possible. Slithering one arm around the small of her back, I pull her in and lean down slightly as I had a few inches over her. Finally –after many sleepless nights, day dreaming- I hesitantly let my lips meet hers only to be overwhelmed at the sweet and innocent taste that lingered in her kiss to pull her in tighter only to deepen the affection I had been desperately wishing to give for a long, long time.

Pulling away slightly, Persephone giggled and rested her forehead against my breast plate, wrapping her arms around me in an inescapable embrace that I could never dare break. All fear and anger she once had, vanished at just the simplest touch. I didn't hesitate to return the affection as I held her close and vowed then and there to never let another demonic soul touch her… that is, unless it was my own. I relished at the thought.

But she gasped, worried. "Hades!"

Blinking in fear, I turn my eyes to her, afraid our moment was over just as quickly as it had started.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

She stretched one hand underneath my jaw line only to pull it back towards my face where a puddle of crimson had drenched her dainty digits. "You're bleeding!"

I sighed in relief. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise you."

"Lie down," she demanded, pulling herself away from me.

"Perseph-"

"Do as I say," she turned to me, glaring. "Lie down."

I smiled and said nothing more as I set myself on the icy ground.

Only a few heartbeats later did she return with gathered herbs in her small hands, crushed and moist from the snow, recreating the salve her mother made for her only a few hours ago. Gently setting herself down beside me, she places both hands with nature's ointment onto either side of my neck, rubbing it in soothingly and lovingly.

"There," she smiled, pushing away the remaining herbs after time had cured me, "good as new."

I release a small laugh as I let my hand caress the pink hue just under her gem-like eyes as she smiled. Soft and gently, I cup the back of her fragile neck and slowly pull her down to me, pressing my lips to hers while my arms snaked around her back, molding her body to my own as we remained hidden in the shadows, evicted from the world and not caring a single moment.

Pulling away slightly, she hovers just over me and smiles. "Who knew the kiss of death was truly heaven in disguise?" she giggled, encircling my neck in her arms as she rested her forehead against my own.

I sighed in complete euphoria, relieved that for once something beautiful I touched didn't turn into ash, but rather remained the beautiful flower it had always been since the day it bloomed onto my side of the glass wall.

_,.;:-'"*"'-:;.,_