DIVINE - A Persephone And Hades Retelling

TWELVE || Safety Is Simply A Matter Of Trust

Poseidon - God of the Seas

Poseidon grew up the middle child of his two brothers, Zeus and Hades. He always preferred to remind others that he was not simply a brother to these two great gods but also one of the Three King Brothers and should be respected as such. As if it made up for being less than Hades' prestige and Zeus' power. Unlike Zeus, who became a warrior, or Hades, who had taken the time to become wise and decisive, Poseidon had used his time spent in his father's belly, becoming filled with thoughts of revenge. It fueled him and filled him to the brim, spilling, and washing over those around him from time to time. The craze became as much of who he was as his own name.

He was named the god of seas, seafarers, and horses. But he had quickly added onto his title, the maker of storms and earthquakes. No one questioned it at the time, they had all seen the storm raging behind his eyes. Poseidon had never seen the point of a peaceful sea and lived his life in the same way; taking what he wanted and drowning whoever came into his path. Always ambitious, the most dangerous trait a god could have. Always jealous, after all, what good is it to own the oceans when they are only second best to the sky?

---

Her heart beat loudly in Persephone's chest as she walked quickly down the hall. She kept her head down, hoping no one could see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She was angry, yet she still wanted to cry, two emotions that seemed so different to Persephone. And yet there she was hiding her tears in a crowded hallway. She knew she could not cry. Not here. Not in front of all those eyes. There could be no tears today. She picked up her paise, trying to find Hades as quickly as possible.

Her feet stilled once she heard a two-toned whistle make its way down the hall. She prayed to anyone who might have been listening that it was not for her. She did not have the energy to deal with another god before the trial had even begun. She stopped to turn towards the offending sound, only to find the hallway empty.

She wondered where everyone had gone. The trial was bound to be starting soon, maybe that is where they all had headed. Which only meant she was late for her own trial. She turned back to run off, only to run into a man standing in her path. His beard was long, but well kept, and he smelt of sea salt. She knew immediately it was Poseidon, the god of the sea and one of the Three Traitorous King Brothers. Hades' own brother.

"Ah, the little queen," he spoke, his words echoing off the walls. He did not try to keep his voice down, instead, it bellowed and crashed down the hall.

"Poseidon." She greeted him politely, after all, he was a very powerful god, the fact that she had no desire to speak with him mattered little to him.

"Why so stiff little flower? We're family now." Poseidon laughed.

"Yes, I suppose we are." Persephone agreed with him. She did not know this god, she only knew of him from Hades. And what she knew did not speak in favor of him. She had heard of his rage and uncontrollable temper, and of course, his wife, which he gloated to have plucked from the shoreline. She reminded herself that not every prince was charming. But all that mattered to her was that Hades did not trust his brother. He didn't trust any of his brothers, but from what she could gather, Zeus could be predicted to betray, but when it came to Poseidon, there was no telling what he would do. The fact made Persephone suddenly uneasy.

"You're the one I've been hearing so much about. The woman of the hour, or so it seems. I hear you're the only one good enough for my brother Hades. And now it seems not even this will matter. The poor little girl, still waiting for her happy ending." His words were meant to sting, and they found their way to her. She had known this was what everyone was thinking, but to hear it said to her face was something much more painful. It hurt that he had purposely sought her out, only to wound her even more than her mother had. She could not hear any more from him. She knew she needed to find Hades and get this horrible day over with.