Halves

IV. Hades

"Persephone, my Sweet, I present to you Lord Hades."

Hera's words echo off the water as she places a young woman's hand in my own. I am momentarily left speechless. I had suspected she was Demeter's little-known daughter when I met her in the pomegranate grove on my last visit to the mortal world, but there is still some shock at hearing her name come from Hera's mouth, and seeing her surrounded by the glittering trappings of Olympus instead of her natural environment.

My loss of speech is also aided by the fact that I have only seen her once before, in the dying light of sunset. Awash in the overdone dazzle of Olympus, she is radiant, sun-kissed skin glowing with softer peach shades brought out by the blushing apple blossoms in her hair. Her face is heart-shaped, softly framed by tendrils of silken hair that drift like smoke escaping from the boundaries of careful stying. I do not believe I've ever seen anyone as beautiful as she.

"Greetings, my Lady." I lift her fingers to my lips, watching the thoughts that flicker in the greenness of her wide eyes. She was not aware of my identity when we met before; I purposely let that small detail slip by in our earlier conversation, since I enjoyed her straightforwardness and had no wish to complicate things with the reputation that precedes me.

Interesting. Fear never makes its appearance in her gaze. 

"I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Lord." There is both a question and an accusation in her tone.

"I am afraid Apollo and Hermes are quarreling again," Hera announces to no one in particular, as the sound of raised voices shatters the stillness. "Come find me if you need anything, Persephone." Then she is gone, and I am left alone with Demeter's daughter.

Persephone's hand leaves mine. "I asked who you were the evening we met," she remarks. "You never did answer, did you?"

"My apologies, Lady. I did not wish you to be disturbed if you discovered you were conversing with Death."

She looks at me curiously. "Why should I be?"

I allow myself a wry smile. "All fear Death."

Her expression grows thoughtful. "But they shouldn't. After all, it is the natural resolution of life, is it not?"

This woman, with her honest fascination and unprejudiced inquiries, is having a very interesting effect on me. I have not been this ruffled since I was much, much younger. "That is so, Lady Persephone. I am genuinely impressed by your acceptance of my role. Many of the others —" I wave in the direction of the party, "— find the kingdom I rule to be macabre and unnatural, since they will never know death themselves. They do not understand it, and what they misunderstand, they loathe." I am not sure why I said that aloud. Perhaps her uninhibited nature is creating cracks in my proverbial armor. I should be more careful.

Empathy softens her pretty face, and a sensation I cannot name wells up inside me. Have I really grown so distant from my emotions in the past few centuries, that they are completely unfamiliar?

"Is it very lonely, to live in the Underworld?"

Taken aback, I am left grasping for an answer. "Not lonely, exactly. There are other immortals who work for me down there. And the shades of the dead are everywhere. I am never truly alone." Then why does it feel like you are, Hades?

She moves toward a pathway that leads away from the palace and deeper into Hera's gardens. "I want to see more of Olympus, since no one has called me back to the party yet." With a glance back at me, she asks, "Would you accompany me, Lord Hades?"

"I would, though your mother will not be pleased at your choice of escort," I warn. Demeter has not spoken to me since my brothers and I first took the thrones of our respective kingdoms.