Pomegranates

Hidden Truth

HADES was hiding something from her. Something big. Persephone knew of this. He had been very busy lately. He had always been busy, she knew but even then he managed to spend most of the days with her, and nowadays, nowadays he had been so busy, whenever she saw him, his eyes were so tired, so despairing and he looked at her guiltily.

He still showed her his affections. His gaze gave so much love, his hands often comforted her and his lips giving her temple chaste kisses, ever the gentleman. She was not gullible though. She saw through his carefully guarded expression. How he tried so hard to hide something, how he reigned himself from making her his.

She wondered. How she wondered and yet she feared, she feared that the secret would separate them. Everything in her told her of that.

"Beastly, dog! I have no time for games! Let me through!"

            Persephone paused from her musing as she waited at the kennel where Cerberus spent his time sleeping whenever he was relieved of his guarding duty. Often she found herself in company of Cerberus nowadays, with Charon so busy ferrying souls, the souls in Asphodel seeming a little restless, in their most capable of showing, the souls in service to Hades fluttering about restlessly, Hecate missing and even the Moirai were occupied despite their giggling.

Underworld had become so loud yet not engaging. It came as a surprise to hear a rather different kind of fuss.

"Go away! Begone, you beast!"

            She knew of that voice. Persephone stood from where she sat and wandered to where the fuss was. Lo and behold, Hermes in all his glory, fighting with the lovable but scary Cerberus. She watched their interaction with amusement, Cerberus trying to bite him and Hermes flying about trying to escape the gigantic dog.

Persephone tried to be in the shadows as much as possible but all for naught as she saw Hermes landing painfully because of a mighty swipe from Cerberus. She laughed joyously and it attracted both Cerberus and Hermes' attention. Cerberus had lunged over here much to Hermes' horrified yell and her laughter as the dog lavished her with affection.

"... Kore? Since when are you friends with this gigantic mutt?" He asked distastefully.

"Oh, hush, Hermes. Cerberus is a sweetie. They just do not have a fondness for you?"

"They?"

"They hated it when they were treated as the same beings. Each of them is special, you see."

"Madness! All I see is madness!" He exclaimed frustrated.

"You are always so overdramatic, Hermes."

Hermes lunged at her then, shaking her shoulders as if to wake her from something as he exclaimed, "No! I am not! Your mother is mad! Zeus is mad! Hades, Hades is the maddest of them all, and now you as well!"

"You jested too much, Hermes. They are not mad. Father can be overbearing, sure. Mother very overprotective and Hades so prone to weariness but they are not mad, nor am I."

The God of Messenger stopped then, looking at her quizzically before cackling darkly. "You know nothing! How hilarious!"

Persephone felt herself being jolted at that. Her posture changed as she faced Hermes. "What do I not know, pray tell, Hermes?"

At the tone of her voice, Hermes stopped laughing and watched her with unblinking eyes, gaping. "The Underworld has done things to you, Kore."

She snorted. "It had not. It only eased me into myself. It is Persephone, Hermes, best you call me that. Now, tell me everything."

"... Persephone, then..." He inhaled and exhaled a long intake of breath. "You might want to sit for this, it is a long, dreadfully grating story but I'll shorten it for you, beautiful."

As Persephone abided, he began his tale, "Well, it began with you being abducted by Hades, raped for all we know, your mother going berserk and frozen the lands, killing every harvest, the mortals perishing one by one, your mother finding out you were abducted, getting into a very dreadful temper and punishing the land more, Zeus cannot take you from Hades so he sends me here," he finished with a shrug.

"Naturally, I shall be the one to bring you to your mother and end this nightmare, beautiful Persephone," he added as he reached for her hand and kissed it.

"Go home to father and ask him to come. Mother cannot come here, I know as much so get him here as fast as you can," she ordered coldly.

"Persephone?"

"Now, Hermes." Seeing the steely, dangerous gleam in her eyes, Hermes nodded and made haste to relay the message to Zeus.

            As soon as Hermes disappeared, she stood up, patted each of Cerberus' three heads, and exhaled. She shook her head, an exasperated smile on her face and sadness in her eyes as she whispered to the loyal canine, "What an idiotic master you have, Cerberus. It must be tiring looking after him."

            The dog grunted an agreement to the admission.