DIVINE - A Persephone And Hades Retelling

THREE || Slipping Fingers

Demeter - Goddess of the Harvest

Demeter is known for being the goddess of agriculture, grains, and the harvest. She always liked to think of herself as a life-giver, and that is how she presented herself to anyone and everyone. But the truth was far from the way she presented herself. When she was called to war by her three brothers, they had made it seem valiant and noble, like their cause was one of great importance. They had made it sound as if there was no other choice than, to kill, or be killed. Control or be controlled. They spoke of their father as a tyrant and their mother as a weak woman, and they had been right. Their call to arms had worked, and as all of her siblings ran to war, she followed. She quickly found she had the skill of bringing giants to their knees. It had filled her with pride that she could bring the brightest golden blood to the surface. She was praised as a skilled warrior among the original six traitors, a title that began to grow heavy upon her shoulders. As the war dragged on, its weight only seemed to grow until it was a title she no longer wanted to bear.

After the war was finished, she had sworn to herself to never pick up her sword again. Instead, she savored the peace she and her siblings had created. Choosing to foster life and to hate death. She cultured life where she could and bloomed beauty everywhere.

It was so simple in the beginning.

As time dragged on, as it always must, she found the praise she had been given during the war began to diminish. The gallantry of a warrior was never remembered in peace. Though she tried to ignore her pride, she soon found that she missed the praise that it fostered. In her seclusion, she had made her home upon the earth instead of Mount Olympus, as most of the other gods had. This decision, meant to save her, only served to leave the goddess forgotten and therefore powerless in the minds of her siblings. She had not been as wise as Hera to claim a crown and with it the power she did not know she wanted. And so, she had held onto whatever she was given.

Then when she became pregnant, it felt like life was giving her one more possession that could be taken away. But soon, she saw it as the opportunity it was.

She saw the power, and in it, saw the respect she had lost.

---

They had shared many kisses throughout the years, but this one seemed to be filled with so much more than love. It had a sense of promise and of permanence. Something neither had until this point. It was an intoxicating taste, one she couldn't get enough of. His lips seemed to know exactly how to move and where she wanted them to go.

As they pulled apart and his lips found themselves following a path down her neck. She had almost lost herself in the feeling of his lips until her eyes opened suddenly at the sound of footsteps. They were the ones she would have heard from farther away if she was not so distracted, but now it was much too late.

Standing behind Hades, she could see the silhouette of her mother. Demeter. She was standing in her usual pose, strong and confident, never anything less than powerful. But this time, there was a slight difference. Even though she could not make out her mother's expression through the darkness, she saw how her mother's hip jutted out slightly in the form of a question.

There was no way to hide now. They had been caught.

She quickly took half a step away from him, resting her palms against his muscular chest as if telling him to stop. As if warning him of what was to come.

"Persephone, what is it?" he asked as he took one strand of hair that had fallen from her updo and brushed it behind her ear. If her mother had done the same movement, it would have been in a demeaning way. One move to tell Persephone she would never be perfect, there would always be something to fix. But when his fingers brushed past her ear, she knew it could never be anything as harsh, instead, she knew it was done in love. It had taken her many years to learn the difference.