MOUNT OLYMPUS rejoiced as the gods and goddesses welcomed another into their fold. A child has borne from the mighty Zeus, God of Thunder and Ruler of the Skies, and of Demeter, Goddess of Harvest. Beautiful music streamed through the pantheon courtesy of Apollo and the sun shone brightly thanks to the courteous Helios. Bountiful food and most delicate wines from Dionysus himself were shared among joyous laughter.
It was befitting for a gathering of the gods and goddesses to celebrate the birth of their own, especially an immortal child of their King of Gods and Demeter, daughter of Kronos. Among this celebration, with not an abundance of laughter and guffaws stood Hades, hidden behind a pillar simply taking in the quirks of his family. His eyes searched for his other sister, the one who should have borne the child worthy of such celebration, the Goddess of Marriage, Hera.
Perhaps it was due to the celebration that one managed to miss the sight of their queen escaping said celebration but Hades had never been one to indulge himself in measly forms of entertainment. With an exasperated sigh and practiced patience, the Lord of the Underworld made his way towards the goddess, standing primly, serenely overseeing the pristine lapping pond surrounded by flowers of the prettiest.
The Queen of the Gods startled at his sounding steps but soon relaxed realizing whom those steps belonged to. She waited until those steps drew near and Hades settled himself beside her. It was then that her shoulders sagged from exhaustion and showed the force of her pride that griped her. Wearily, she crossed her arms across her stomach, cradling herself as she waited for the words to tumble from Hades.
"Are you alright, dear sister?" He had asked. Never one to sugarcoat nor divert.
Hera shook her head. "Should I be, dear Hades? I, the Goddess of Marriage who time and time again had to witness my husband's betrayal, his bastard children achieving greatness yet unable to escape this marriage. Tell me dear brother should I be anything but shrouded in despair when this time, a child was born from my husband and my own sister?"
He had always known Hera to be strong but the sight of her so fragile was never unexpected. In the depths of Kronos, they bonded. He, Hestia, and Hera had always been close. While Hestia never meddled and treated them kindly, Hades distanced himself. It was both in his nature and due to the responsibility of ruling Underworld that he became so closed up.
He disliked being in Olympus for the brightness shrouding the gods was a mockery to the Plains of Asphodel and the ugliness of Tartarus. He could never forget what he had seen and done, living in such brightness. Hades kept everyone at arms' length, Hestia, the eldest understood him and let him be but Hera, dear sweet Hera had always been a fondness to him and her, a fondness for him.
"Then cry, dear Hera. Cry, for now, let the despair succumb you even for a mere second before you go back and be the prideful, graceful queen that you are," he coaxed softly.
Thus the queen broke and lost herself in the arms of Hades, crying, lamenting for the heartbreak she was a victim of. Hades stayed silent as he offered his shoulder to cry on, routinely patting her back and making shushing noises to comfort her. He had never agreed to the marriage of dear Hera and his youngest sibling Zeus but Zeus was nothing but persistent, crafty impersonate.
'It is not a wonder Hermes is such a crafty young runt', he had thought when the Messenger God joined their ranks. Enraged he had been when he learned of Zeus' manipulation and he had refused to come to the celebration of their union but Hestia had come upon him with a message from Hera insisting he come. He relented. Similar to how he relented to seeing Hera abused time and time again.
It seemed like an eternity until Hera distanced and recomposed herself. His hands wiped the tear marks adorning her cheeks and watched with fond eyes as the fragile being cradled against him turned into a prideful goddess that mortals both feared and respected. Scooping water from the pond, Hera splashed her face with it to dispose of the proof of her weakness to the amusement of Hades. She turned a rueful smile to him and received an upturn of his lips. She raised a hand to silence the words she was sure to receive with a wry laugh.
"I know, it was my choice to wed him and my choice to love him so none should be blamed for my lack of judgment but I shall make do without your gloating, Hades," she stated.
"Then I shall not, dear sister. Now, can I trust you to make things interesting for once at this feast?" He jested in a deadpan tone, earning a laugh from Hera.
"We shall see."
Their return was greeted by the arrivals of The Moirai. The Fates had these smiles on their face that bore ill will to those who received it. Smiles of intense amusement and mirth made him both intrigued as well as despair. He made himself barely visible among the circle of gods and goddesses surrounding a lavish crib. He did spare an eye out for Hera and The Moirai, the latter out of a sense of survival.
He heard the outrage spewed from Demeter as Hera bestowed her gift in a melodic voice; "She shall have the most successful marriage of us all," and his mouth quirked in amusement at the brand of vengeance Hera carried out for even an isolated Hades could see the protective manner Demeter had over her child, barely letting anyone too near to the crib that even Zeus was granted only moments of contact with the child.
Hades was comfortable being detached, taking in the happenings rather than involving thus he could not help the scowl on his face as Zeus's booming voice called out for him. With a schooled face, he walked towards the center, the gods and goddesses parting his way some out of fear others weariness. As he reached the crib, he nodded his head towards Hera, his eyes warm but a rather stilted one to a scrunched-up Demeter. Zeus and Poseidon greeted him with annoying gusto; the former even though it was wise of him to give Hades a hard pat on his back.
"Brother, it is time to bless the child a gift from you as I had done," Poseidon had said cheerfully.
Zeus's chuckle followed as he gestured proudly to his child, "Come, and meet my sweet daughter, dear brother!"
The eldest son of Kronos barely managed to suppress his disdain as he walked over to the crib to look at the little one. As soon as he did, however, his breath caught at the sight of the little creature. Its green eyes, fresh like the first sight of spring greeted him and the child smiled a very innocent smile that made him believe there was still good in the world other than the darkness of Tartarus and corruption of Olympus. He reached his hand towards the babe, his fingers carefully tracing smooth cheeks and a wave of protectiveness threatened to drown him. Small fingers grabbed his and his lips upturned.
It was with a warmth he uttered, "Persephone, this child shall be Persephone."
Hades did not notice the smiles of The Moirai widened.
TIME kept on moving forward as Chronos diligently carried out his duty and little Persephone soon grew up from the babe she was to a child and a maiden under the watchful eyes of protective Demeter. In the meantime, Hades had not seen her since the day he had bestowed the child a name, for Demeter detested him and had stubbornly called her Kore, such a belittling name he had thought as he heard of it coming up from whispers during his visits to Olympus. He had never sought her though the little babe never did quite leave the back of his mind and he only wished for the best to the child, Persephone, wherever she was.
It was summer when he saw her again.
YOU ARE READING
Pomegranates
Fantasy"Want to hear a story dearies?" Atropos asked, as she cut a thread. "Let us bring you one," crooned Lachesis as she spun a new destiny. "That of pomegranates and changing seasons," finished Clotho as she began a life. Story One of Greek Gods Collect...
