The Colour Of Pomegranates

Chapter 17

She had asked him to kiss her. No. She had dared him to do it. She walked around the castle gardens, which consisted of all black flowers, black trees and black fruit. Curious she touched one of the roses and watched in amazement as it slowly turned pink. Hastily she let go of the petals and they turned black once again.

Without looking back she hurried away from the flowers. Maybe she could create life Below - maybe it was just a simple trick. She went to sit on a small bench overlooking the pinewoods, with Elysium on the horizon.

Elysium looked a lot like the Olympian Court, but maybe a bit more modest. Persephone felt out of place nonetheless. Although only heroes and half gods and particular good and wise people went to Elysium, their souls had found rest and were no longer of a boasting spirit.

She sat there quite a long time, contemplating Hades' kiss and what that would mean for her maidenhood. Maybe she was never intended for divine maidenhood, just like Demeter wasn't. Why had she taken her vows anyway? Did she like being kissed by him? Should she be ashamed of herself that she did? She really wanted to talk to her mother. How had Demeter felt about Zeus when he impregnated her?

'Talk to me, Persephone.' She stiffened when she heard his voice. The black gravel crackled under his feet as he came closer. She moved over so he could sit next to her.

'Do you think they would laugh at me if they knew I broke my vows right when the first trial showed up?' He looked down at the gravel.

'Do you care?' he wondered.

'No,' she said, surprised to hear it coming from her mouth. 'I don't care what they think about me at all. I do care, however what my mother thinks. I don't want her to be disappointed in me. She had been a maiden for two thousand years when she answered Zeus' call. I didn't even get to be a hundred.' He chuckled.

'You get to decide,' he said. 'Maiden goddess means you shall not marry or bear children - in the traditional sense of the word. You haven't broken your vows.'

'The problem lies not with actions in the past,' she said, reddening, 'I really don't know if I can keep it up in the future.' He felt blood rising to his cheeks. Persephone thought it was ridiculous - two gods of which one was as powerful as to rule an entire kingdom being shy about their feelings.

'My answer doesn't change. It's your call.'

'Could I ask the Fates?' she suddenly asked. 'They know what lies in store for me, right? They know what the future holds.' He hesitated.

'It really doesn't work that way,' he said. She squinted.

'You talk to them on a regular basis!'

'Never about myself. Anything they wish to tell me they do without me asking for it.'

'Did they tell you I'd be coming?' Again, hesitation. She had been Below long enough to recognise his tells.

'Yes, they did.'

'And...?'

'I want you to make your own decisions.'

'That is not fair! You already know what I will pick!' He shook his head.

'I do not. You see, the threads the Fates use, they tangle, they fray, they break. Even if I'd tell you what they told me, there is no certainty it will end up that way.' She got up.

'Tell me.'

'I can't,' he said apologetically.

'Hades!' She stomped her foot and hated it. She took a deep breath before she turned her back on him. 'Truth or Dare.'

'You can't play for your fate.'

'I can.'

'Could you please calm down?' Frustrated he raked through his raven black hair. 'I have done everything in order for you to make your own choices. You cannot determine your path by what the Fates predict on a random day.' She started walking away from him.

'I can't look at you right now,' she said.

'Persephone, stop.' She kept walking, ignoring his exasperated pleading. 'You're being childish!'

'I don't care! You would've told any other one of them!'

'Fine!' he roared, sending a shiver down her spine. Defeated he dropped his shoulders. 'The day you descended into the Underworld the Fates told me my Queen had arrived. The goddess of the Underworld, the one all who did wrong in the Upper Realm would fear, the one who would make kings and war criminals tremble.' The colour drained from her face as she turned around to face him. Queen of the Underworld? Her?