Persephone

Persephone

Chapter 1

    The sun was beating down on my back and the birds sang in the surrounding tress. The grass tickled my toes as it blew in the breeze. This place was so peaceful, unlike in Olympus, which is always bustling with people coming and going. However I must admit that I am sometimes jealous of the citizens that reside there, purely because that’s where my mother lives. She is so wary of the men there that she keeps me down on earth until a man worthy enough takes me for his wife. How I’m supposed to actually meet a man down here though I do not know.
“Persephone! Hello..!” three voices sang together. I looked up and saw the nymphs dancing joyously around. They had always made me smile. Each of them had long flowing hair down to their waist. Pictures of beauty, yet the best thing was that they dint even realise just how beautiful they were. I got up and ran over to join them in the gay singing and dancing.
“We hear Persephone, that Hephaestus has now asked your mother for your hand?” Aglaope asked me. I rolled my eyes at her and laughed.
“Well, yes. I heard that too” I answered.
“When will your mother actually let you marry? Or even socialise with men? You’ve had like 10 proposals already!” Thelxiepoe exclaimed.
“Four actually”, I corrected her.
“Four?” they gasped together.
“Yep four, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, oh and Apollo proposed last week” I informed them with a cocky grin. All four of us swooned when I mentioned Apollo, then giggled.
“Oh my. Are you serious? Wow. I would do ANYTHING for even one night with Apollo”, Aglaope gushed.
“Apollo or Ares, I’d take any one of them given the chance” said Peisinoe.
“Watch your mouth in front of the Virgin Goddess here” Thelxiepoe teased.
“Anyway” Aglaope said rolling her eyes at her sisters, “Why don’t you accept them. Haven’t you always liked Apollo anyway?”. I smiled at them, they were right I had always liked Apollo. I decided I should accept his offer, it was time that I should marry, and my mother would have to be happy for me.

    I sat in a pool of sunshine on the grass, listening to the melodic singing of my friends. Thoughts of my future wedding filled my head and I began picking flowers and making a small bouquet. Beneath me I felt the earth shift a little, but the girls didn’t seem to notice. I brushed myself down and headed to the wild peonies to add to the bouquet. A second time the ground shook, harder this time, causing me to stumble down to my knees. Behind me the girls shrieked, I turned my head to them to let them know I was fine. Then I saw their faces, frozen in horror. They weren’t looking at me, I followed their gaze to the massive crack in the ground, just yards from me. Dark grey smoke was billowing out of the gaping hole, and slowly a dark figure emerged from it. He strode slowly over to me. I tried to run but my body betrayed me, leaving me in a defenceless position on the ground. He came to stand in front of me, his giant shadow looming over me. My mind screamed at me to run but I just stared into his dark brown, almost black eyes.
“Miss Persephone, I am Hades”, his voice was hypnotic, like no other gods I had known before. He towered above me, with the muscles any warrior god would envy. His ebony hair sat just below his chin, with stray wavy locks refusing to be tamed. He was fiercely handsome. I chastised myself for the thought then I finally realised just who he was, Hades, God of the Underworld.
“I ask of you, you Persephone, to accompany me back to my home?” I looked back to the girls, who hadn’t moved an inch, I screamed out to them for help,  but they simply watched on in despair.
“Don’t make this difficult Persephone”, he warned as he reached down and scooped me up into his arms like a child. I thrashed around in his arms, but to no avail. He turned and headed straight through the heavy clouds of smoke and then everything went black.