DIVINE - A Persephone And Hades Retelling

TWENTY ONE || A God With A Table Knife

Dinner was usually Persephone's favorite time of the day. Business always had its way of stealing Hades away early in the morning, lunch was never guaranteed for either of them, but dinner was always theirs. They had quickly compromised that during the day, their work would always distract and leave little time for the other, but at night there would be no interruptions. Once dinner was served, no one would interrupt them. The worries and the rush of the day would end.

But this afternoon, she could not concentrate on anything but them. Those poor souls trapped on the other side of the river Styx. They sat alone in the cold while she sat by the fire in their decadent dining room, eating her favorite meal. She watched the wine in her glass swirl against the sides. It only acted as a reminder of the river as it rushed up the sides of her glass. Following a deep sigh, she once again put it down.

When Hades had said he was taking her on a tour, she never imagined she would have seen a sight like the one she had found. Of course, she knew humans came here to be judged and, of course, punished for their crimes, but the forgotten were being denied even this. They were not even permitted the right to be judged solely because of a lack of wealth. Though she had tried, Persephone could only see it as cruel and unfair.

She knew there were probably some humans who were purposely hiding from their fate or at the very least welcoming the wait. She even understood what Hades was trying to tell her when he said that most deserved to be left on those shores. But the fact that he said most and not all made her question if there were others. People who did not deserve to wait on those river banks. Innocents who were forgotten.

She could not stop herself from thinking of them, the innocent, who were being punished without being judged first. She was okay with the fact that people were suffering in the Underworld, Hades was fair in his punishments. She knew that if they were sent to the fields of punishment, it meant they had done something to deserve it. But these souls, whether they were guilty or not, still had not received their trial. She knew what it was to be prejudged. For everyone to assume they knew who she was and what she had done. She knew what it was to have no voice to tell them they were wrong.

Hades' hand reached out of her concentration and pulled her back to the present. He gently squeezed her hand, "darling? Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes," she smiled weakly to him, "Why?"

"You have not touched your meal, and this is your fourth glass tonight." He told her. She knew she was distracted, but now even Hades had noticed. She should have known, he noticed everything. "You seem upset, that is all." He watched her, waiting for her to tell him whatever was plaguing her mind.

She already knew why he was so concerned. She had not taken more than two bites out of her meal and instead had drunk most of the nectar, hoping it would help her forget the souls she had seen. "I'm not upset," she sighed, "I'm just thinking."

"About today?" He asked, rubbing his thumb against the center of her palm. "I know how shocking it must be, I can only imagine what is going through your mind. I do not want you to worry, though, you have my word, you are perfectly safe here."

She smiled at his kind words, even though he did not know what was distracting her. He still wished for her to feel safe. But she already felt safe, she always felt safe with him. It was a much different environment than what she was used to. But she'd had thousands of years to grow accustomed to it and had grown quite fond of the Underworld. She knew that if there was anything to fear, Hades would be there to protect her. She had little to fear. As a goddess, she had also grown stronger and more confident in her own powers and abilities. She was starting to understand her powers were much more vast than her mother, or even she had once believed.