DIVINE - A Persephone And Hades Retelling

FORTY TWO || Spring

Persephone watched as the light slowly spread throughout the room, welcoming the new day. It had finally come. She had spent the entire night and most of the early morning hoping that Helios would take his time and the morning would never greet her. But it did, as it always had, without fail. She had hoped she could stay in this perfect world with Hades, but it seemed not even a god's prayer could be answered.

Spring had come.

Laying on Hades' naked chest, she savored the last few moments she would have with him, in no rush to start the day. She drew lines and swirls on his chest, memorizing the edges of his face to get her through the lonely nights of spring. Though she was completely sure, nothing would compare to seeing him in person.

Nothing could compare to holding him within her arms.

Touching him with her fingers.

Kissing his neck.

Feeling him-

"Good morning," Hades spoke, his voice rough with sleep. She didn't dream of pulling away as he leaned to kiss her. Instead, she savored every second. "Have you been awake long?" he asked as he stretched beneath her.

"I couldn't sleep," she said as an answer. Instantly he held her tighter as he must have recognized the apprehensiveness in her voice. She could never hide anything from him.

"There is no reason to be nervous," he said softly as his fingers brushed her face. She closed her eyes at the touch, savoring the contact.

"There is every reason to be nervous." She argued back.

"Persephone, you must go, darling," he told her. No matter how strongly she wanted to disagree with him, she knew he was right. If she did not leave, she would not only give her mother the permission she needed to start a war, but she would also be disobeying the word of Zeus. But at this moment, all of those reasons seemed insignificant. She felt like war would be preferable to saying goodbye. "The time will go by fast, I promise."

"But-but what if-" Persephone began to ask softly but stopped short, too afraid of her own fears to let them be spoken aloud.

"What if what, darling? Everything will be fine." Hades promised, repeating all the promises he had made the night before. "I will come to visit you as much as possible. Hourly if I must. And then, before you know it, you will come back home to me. There is nothing to worry about," he said as he placed a gentle kiss on the crest of her forehead.

"I just keep thinking... What if I don't come back? What if my mother traps me on the surface, and I cannot come back to you?" Persephone asked, speaking her worst nightmare into the space between them.

Hades tried to hide the dread in his eyes but was not fast enough, for she knew then that it had been plaguing his mind as well. Still, he had not spoken of his fears to her. Instead, he only offered her the reassurance she needed. He had always been the stronger one between them, "I would shatter the world to get to you." he told her intently, anger floating on the cusp of his lips. "You should know by now there is little that could keep me from getting to you. There is nothing your mother could do that would stop me," he promised, holding her waist even tighter.

She knew this to be the truth, that if ever she needed him, he would move mountains to get to her. Even still, she leaned to kiss him as if it would be the last time. She kissed him passionately with all the love she had within her. She kissed him as if it were the first time, as if they had no obstacles in their path. As if it was their love and nothing more.

She tried to stop herself from sobbing as she felt as if everything she held dear to her was being ripped away. Though she could not hide that, she felt as if she was losing him. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks, wetting his as well. When she felt them, she began to softly cry against his lips. She tried to sit up, to hide her tears until she could stop them completely, but he immediately held her tighter and flipped her, so she was now lying underneath him.