Ophelia

Prologue

I.

The room is freezing cold, chilling to the marrow of her bones -- pained and brittle. Saying it is dark does no justice, especially when there is no trace that any light has ever been cast upon to grace this feeble excuse of a room. Can it even be considered a room? There is no way to tell how many walls there are, if any, in the blackness that envelops every square inch. The loneliness that creeps through the humid air seeps into the girl's rigid and stiff skin, the skin itself damp with the stench of dew.

She couldn't help but pace back and forth, her heartbeat quickening with each agonizing step. Even her legs betray her, as she mindlessly makes her way in circles. She screams to the Gods for it to end, to no avail. Her voice is broken, everything about her is broken. Her eyes dart back and forth trying to remember his face. His beautiful face. Her nails dig into her once supple skin, plucking at scuttling bugs that aren't there. Or are they? One moment she feels nothing but the loneliness continuing to slowly sink into her skin and others, well others she feels the disturbing creatures creep slowly, each step a painful reminder that no one is there to soothe her. She couldn't help but laugh maniacally at wondering what day it was. What does it matter when you have all of eternity? Her laugh was a pathetic sound, barely bouncing off the dark walls of wherever she was.

I am going mad! She feels the blood rushing through her veins, the sharp tingles of all her nerves on fire. Is this her punishment? I don't understand, the weak voice (and the only one she has left) pleads to herself, heavy with desperation. She can feel it is coming to an end. It is sadistically humorous how someone can sense it. That they will disappear forever, a fleeting memory destined to fade as time goes on. She grips her splayed hair glued to the skin of her neck as she lets out one last final scream, this one echoing all throughout Hell.

That's where it ended for Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Queen of Hades.

II.

Demeter didn't know how long it had been since she lost her beautiful daughter. Had it been 10 years? 100? 1,000? Think, think. Her fingers hastily run through her hair as though she could pull the answer she seeks from memory. Did it matter? Her sacred hearth died out that day. Everyone had thought that that dreadful scream echoed only through the Underworld, when in reality it shook all of Olympus to its aged core. Demeter herself had aged tremendously since then, her body now grey with age. Once a beautiful mother-like Goddess, full of life and joy, now she displayed the effects of sorrow etched across her face. Her features are now fragile, her body as frail as a brittle autumn leaf, barely clinging on to everything that it could possibly ever know. It was as though if there was enough of a push of wind that she would be turned to dust and scattered like ashes. No, the only fire that burned for her these days was within her heart. It was a strong fire, of longing and sorrow, hatred, and the desire for revenge.

Today was the day she was going to avenge her sweet daughter Persephone, she had devised this plan for what felt like eons, an eternity even. She hurried within what is her house (was it even a home anymore?) as her bony fragile fingers obsessively sought the comfort of each other. She was not usually a busy woman these days. She seldom leaves her house anymore, haunting the hallways like a lost spirit, but today she had merely a few hours to complete her task.

She sat at her large table, a gift from Hephaestus. Made from exquisite marble, swirls of greys and blacks and even a few beiges flowed around as if they were dancing. She used to enjoy sitting here, spending hours planning families for faithful mortals. Across from the table, a little ways to the left, was a gift from Hestia, a generously sized fireplace to keep the room comfortable. She could sit for hours watching the flames smother each other, a sign of a good day to come. Now ashes remained in the bottom, the only signs that life was ever in that room. Today was different. Yes, she was going to create and plant the seed of the first life since her daughter was stolen from her.

All the Gods know that it isn't like before. Today's people had new Gods to worship, but they still were enamored by the Greek ones. She had spent years investing in potential carriers for this child. Darren and Daphne Maddix seemed like the perfect fit for the task. Darren and Daphne were high school sweethearts, but when they were in primary school they were the best of friends. They married after college, and have been trying for a baby for 4 years now. What does it feel like again, to be in love? I can't seem to remember. Her brows furrow as her cheeks sink in a little more from concentration.

Demeter let the thought scour the depths of her mind ever so slowly as she was preparing the final steps. She was about to drain whatever energy she had left to make the seed that would then be transplanted simultaneously in Daphne. As she mustered all the futile energy that she had, a wicked smile crept it's way past her dry lips. It was perhaps the first time she had smiled since that grievous day. She sliced open a red pomegranate, freshly picked and full of those stupid, stupid seeds. As she slowly brought one to the tip of her tongue, her body trembled in disgust. The sound of her poor daughter's voice echoed within her ears. I am so sorry Mom! I didn't think anything would come from those treacherous seeds!

Her eyes snapped back into focus, her pupils dilating within her now diluted irises. That was the last Demeter heard from her. Until the scream at least. Swallowing it back, she began to laugh menacingly. Her daughter Euphemia would be the very poison to infect the man that begun this on that fateful day.

"Oh you fool", she thought to herself while she still could, her mind picturing the future face of this child, "if you really thought you could take away my precious Persephone without being destroyed at my hand you have been sorrily mistaken".

A piercing noise cut through the air and slithered into her ears, leaving the blazing trail of an echo behind.

Then, her world went black.