Once Upon a Winter's Spring

3.Daughters of Zeus

And so passed a 100 years. Kori, certainly not Zeus's youngest child anymore, still retained her position of everyone's favorite through her innocence, humility, and charm. She made friends, of course, but not as many as a person might expect from everyone's favorite goddess.

Nymphs were her closest companions of course, and she was surprisingly warm to her half and step siblings. Being a goddess of nature, Kori was fond of Artemis too, though the huntress was a couple years older. And with Artemis came her brother Apollo, who was only allowed to be in Kore's presence by the promise that Artemis would keep a watchful eye on her flirtatious twin. Her best friend, amazingly, was Eros, the son of Aphrodite.

She would teasingly call him Cupid, as the Romans had named him. Being that he was the offspring of Aphrodite, it was no surprise that Cupid's powers were of the same nature of his mother's. What did come as a surprise, though, was that Demeter let her Kori be friends with a deity of love.

Kori spent a hundred years in careless bliss, eternally a child, naively unaware of her mother's unfair constriction. But this year was different. This year was the year when her conscious memory took form. She would remember everything from this year on.

Demeter loathed the time. She'd wished her little Kori be dead before she could become impure. At 108 years, her little girl would not be so naive anymore.

While Demeter decided to almost lock up the girl when she had the chance, the other goddesses decided now would be the best time for Kori to begin her learning. Elementary, of course, but everything starts from somewhere.

Aphrodite tutored Kori on performances, how to befriend everyone and anyone. Mother Hera, who tolerated Kori most out of all her step children, taught the girl both how to be gentle and cunning, teaching her methods of how to get her way.

Though she was put in isolation anytime she was with her mother, that didn't mean that Demeter didn't train her. Kori was the goddess of spring after all.

Demeter started her with menial tasks, which still took time for her to learn. Oyi! Her mother could raise a whole field of grass with only a lift of her hand, and here it took Kori 6 days she to get a couple blades to stand tall without turning brown. On the 7th day she rested, doing no spring work at all but rather, had fun following around other goddesses.

Also special about this year was that this was the first homecoming that she was going to clearly remember, and Kori was really excited for it. She used her charm, (Hera noticed) and had Hera assign her the central role for the main presentation, and asked Aphrodite to help her create the best performance.

All of it was, of course, planned behind her mother's back. Demeter was on the other half of the world, giving spring over to summer, when Hermes reached her with the itinerary for the homecoming ceremony. It was probably from this exchange that a famous line came into existence: "Don't kill the messenger!"

Kori was in her room, practicing her recital with Cupid when her mother charged in, literally breaking down the door.

"Kori! What exactly are you doing?!" Demeter screamed as she strode in, making Kori freeze and Cupid scurried under the bed.

"Mother!" Y-you've returned so soon! I wasn't expecting you till days before the homecoming!"

"And you assume that gives you permission to make decisions for yourself! You will not participate in the ceremony!"

Demeter would have forbidden her to go at all, but not even Hades could refuse an appearance, without repercussions, at least.

Kori pouted with big, watery eyes and grabbed her mother's hand to have her sit on the bed.