Halves

XVI. Hades

Locating a shade is easy enough for me, and soon the fire in Persephone's room is blazing once more. I am annoyed that she suffered such unacceptable discomfort in my home, and I resolve to make sure that someone checks her chamber more often in future to keep the fire going at all times.

Returning to my own room, I discover that my guest has burrowed deep into my bed; all that indicates her presence there is a barely perceptible mound beneath the blankets.

"Persephone?"

No answer. 

She's gone and fallen asleep in MY bed, of all places.

Any other time, I would leave her to enjoy it and take myself elsewhere, but tonight, all my body wants is to relax in its own bed to heal. It will be fine. The bed is large enough for us not to touch, isn't it? I collapse into the opposite side and pull the blankets up around my shoulders, carefully far from her. 

I never move much while I sleep, anyway.

I drift in and out of slumber for awhile. I am a light sleeper at the best of times, and between the continuous throbbing of my injury and my hyper-awareness of Persephone's unexpected presence beside me, all I seem able to do tonight is snatch sleep by an hour at a time.

"Hades?"

Maybe she is not as deeply asleep as I thought.

"Yes?"

"How do you handle nightmares?"

I roll over to face her. She is staring at me, eyes troubled, and I silently curse my miscreant of a father for filling someone else's head with the same dreams that have tortured me my entire life.

"I have some power over dreams, if that is what you were wondering. Nightmares based in your experiences cannot truly be erased, but I can help ward against them."

"I just do not want to think about him any more tonight." She sounds drained.

Empathy burns in my chest. "Do you still have that garnet I gave you?"

"Of course." Her reply is tinged with surprise. "I haven't taken it off since I came down here." 

She pulls the blankets down slightly, and the jewel gleams darkly against her chest.

I reach towards it, then stop myself short. "May I?"

She nods, and I take the stone between my fingertips, concentrating until it glows a fierce red in the darkness. Releasing it, I let it fall back against her skin, its glow gently dying.

"What did you do?" Persephone asks in interest, her own fingers rising to touch the jewel.

"I simply activated one of its powers. Garnets are regarded as protectors, against wounds in both the physical world and the dream world."

Her tone warms. "Is that why you gave it to me?"

"Partly."

"What was the other part?"

Is there a specific answer she is looking for? 

I swallow my discomfort and decide to explain myself. She cannot really see my face that well in the dark, anyway. "Garnets also stand for passionate relationships between people. You can think of it as a symbol of the beginning of our friendship." 

It also stands for passion in love, but she does not need to know that.

She is quiet for a bit, thoughtfully rubbing the garnet between her fingers. "I like that. Do all gems have meanings?"